“What Do I Do If I Have Herpes During Pregnancy? “

What Do I Do If I Have Herpes During Pregnancy?

Risk of Passing Herpes to Infants During Pregnancy is Rare
No woman wants to worry that something bad will happen to their unborn baby during pregnancy. One concern many women have is they will pass herpes to their child during pregnancy.

If you have herpes during pregnancy, there are several steps you can take to help prevent transmission to your unborn baby. Having herpes during pregnancy is scary. It is difficult for mothers with herpes not to worry they will pass their disease onto their unborn children. This is especially a concern when mothers experience active outbreak during pregnancy.

The good news is neonatal herpes is a rare condition. Women however, with genital herpes, often worry they will transfer their virus to their babies during delivery.

This concern is reasonable and understandable, as it is possible to transfer herpes to a newborn infant during delivery. However, the risk of doing so is low, particularly among women with long-term infections that do not have an active outbreak of herpes at or around the time of delivery.

There are few statistics pointing to the number of herpes cases among neonates nationwide. Research suggests that up to 3,000 cases arise every year, out of roughly 4 million births. These are good statistics suggesting the odds of transferring herpes to a newborn are less than .1% usually.

Of course, that said, if a newborn does contract herpes the results are often devastating, with few infants escaping permanent damage or suffering serious neurological problems resulting from the infection or treatment. Therefore it is vital women and health care providers take action and steps to help prevent transmission to a newborn baby.

How To Prevent Neonatal Herpes
If you have herpes while pregnant, there are steps you can take to help protect your infant. Typically your risk of transmitting herpes to your infant is low especially if you did not contract the herpes infection while pregnant. Most women have long-standing infections that decrease the risk of transmission during pregnancy.

Typically neonatal herpes happens when infants come into contact with the herpes virus during delivery. This occurs through the birth canal. If you have an active outbreak at or around the time of delivery, there is a strong possibility your infection will be in a state of “viral shedding” making risk of transmission high.

Most of the time however, mothers with long-term infections have natural antibodies in their blood that pass to the fetus through the placenta and help protect the baby from infection during delivery. This is part of the reason most mothers will not transfer an active virus on to their infants.

Typically mothers start transferring their antibodies to their babies at or around 28 weeks pregnancy. Most babies delivered at or near term have a strong set of antibodies protecting them against infection or transmission from asymptomatic shedding.

If you have a history of genital herpes, your doctor will take precautions to ensure the safety of your baby. Your doctor will watch you closely for signs and symptoms of an outbreak near the time of delivery. Your doctor can help identify lesions, and women can help identify early or prodromal signs of a pending infection.

If you do have symptoms around delivery, your doctor will likely perform a cesarean section to help prevent your baby from contracting the active virus through the birth canal.

If you don’t have active lesions during delivery, most women can undergo a vaginal delivery safely. The percentage of women passing on herpes to their babies with no active shedding is very rare. That said, some women may request an elective C-section to avert any possible risk to their baby. Many women will willingly undergo a C-section during pregnancy to ensure there is zero chance they will pass on the virus to their baby.

It is important you discuss your choices with your doctor. Together the two of you can make the best decision to help protect you and your baby.