Neonatal conjunctivitis, also known as ophthalmia neonatorum, is a form of conjunctivitis and a type of neonatal infection contracted by newborns during delivery. The baby's eyes are contaminated during passage through the birth canal from a mother infected with either Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Chlamydia trachomatis. Antibiotic ointment is typically applied to the newborn's eyes within 1 hour of birth as prevention against gonococcal ophthalmia. If left untreated it can cause blindness.