Pregnancy with Gentail Herpes.
What will happen when you give birth?
Pregnant women who know they have genital
herpes can become very concerned for their child, and rightly so.
Genital herpes can be transmitted to their child during birth. The
good thing is that neonatal herpes is rare, and there are precautionary
measures that can be taken.
An estimated 20-25% of pregnant women
have genital herpes, while less than 0.1% of babies contract an infection.
Transmission rates are lowest for women who get herpes before pregnancy
and for women who have no signs or symptoms of an outbreak at delivery.
The chances of transmission are highest when a woman gets genital
herpes late in pregnancy.
In the rare case that a newborn does
contract genital herpes, the outcome can be distressing. Approximately
half of all newborns treated with antiviral medications have no permanent
damage, but others can suffer from serious neurological damage, mental
retardation or even death.
If you know you have genital herpes,
and you become pregnant, speaking to your doctor immediately about
it will be beneficial. You can discuss with your doctor ways to minimize
the risk of passing the infection to your baby. If you think you may
have genital herpes, and become pregnant, speak to your doctor about
possible testing.
Mothers who have had genital herpes for
some time before getting pregnant have an increased chance of having
a healthy baby. People who have contracted genital herpes build antibodies.
Those antibodies from the mother will be passed to the baby during
pregnancy. This gives the baby a greater chance of not contracting
the virus.
Premature babies, unfortunately, have
a slightly increased risk regardless of the amount of time the mother
has had the infection. The transfer of the antibodies from the mother
to the baby begins at 28 weeks of pregnancy. This is why women who
contract the virus during the third trimester have a greater chance
of passing it to the baby-they may not have enough time to make antibodies,
let alone pass them to the baby.
About 5%-8% of babies who contract neonatal
herpes are infected after birth, usually when an adult who has an
active infection of oral herpes kisses the baby.
Between 10% and 14% of women with genital
herpes have an outbreak at delivery. There is a greater risk for women
who get the infection during pregnancy, and lower for women who have
had the infection for more than six years.
If a woman is having an outbreak at this
time, the safest thing for the baby is a cesarean section so that
the baby doesn't come in contact with the virus at all.
Back
to Genital Herpes
