16 wks pregnant and herpes positive?
I am 16 wks pregnant and found out at my last appointment that my blood test for herpes came back positive. I have had no symptoms and the doctor didn’t seemed concerned about it at this stage of my pregnancy. I am not a promicuous person. I am married and I know my husband hasn’t cheated on me. He must have had it before we got married. My concern is about my baby. How will this affect my child? Please help.
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What are the risks to my unborn baby if I have genital herpes?
The biggest concern with genital herpes during pregnancy is that you might transmit it to your baby during labor and delivery. Newborn herpes is relatively rare (about 1,500 newborns are affected each year), but the disease can be devastating, so it’s important to learn how to reduce your baby’s risk of becoming infected.
You can transmit herpes to your baby during labor and delivery if you’re contagious, or "shedding virus," at that time. The risk of transmission is high if you get herpes for the first time (a primary infection) late in your pregnancy.
Much less commonly, you can transmit the virus if you’re having a recurrent infection. If you’ve ever had a herpes outbreak, the virus remains in your body and can become reactivated.
In rare cases, a pregnant woman may transmit the infection to her baby through the placenta if she gets herpes for the first time in her first trimester. If a baby is infected this way, the virus can cause serious birth defects.
Will I need a cesarean delivery if I have herpes?
It depends. If you were first infected with genital herpes before your third trimester or before you got pregnant, and you have no symptoms of an outbreak (or an impending outbreak) when your water breaks or your labor starts, you’ll be able to labor and try for a vaginal delivery.
In this situation, the risk of your baby contracting the disease is less than 1 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s because you begin to develop antibodies to herpes soon after you’re first infected, and they’re passed on to your baby through the placenta. In six to 12 weeks, your baby will have some immunity as a result of these antibodies, which offer him some protection if you’re unknowingly shedding virus.
On the other hand, if you’re having an outbreak or symptoms of an impending outbreak when your water breaks or when you go into labor, you’ll need an immediate cesarean delivery. This would be the case if you have any visible sores on your cervix, vagina, or external genitals, or any symptoms, like tingling, burning, or pain, that sometimes signal an imminent outbreak. (Currently, there’s no quick and reliable way to test whether you’re actually shedding virus.)
The only exception might be if you have herpes lesions or symptoms and your water breaks when your baby is still very premature. In that case, your practitioner may try to postpone delivery to give your baby more time to develop. (You may be treated with an antiviral medication in the meantime.)
To improve your chances of being able to deliver vaginally, some experts — including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — recommend that pregnant women with recurrent genital herpes be offered oral antiviral medication from 36 weeks or so until delivery. Recent studies show that this reduces the risk of an outbreak at the time of labor.
If you first get genital herpes late in pregnancy and blood tests confirm you’ve never had it before, many experts recommend having a cesarean section even if you don’t have symptoms when you go into labor.
With a new infection, your body hasn’t had time to develop antibodies and pass them on to your baby, the virus tends to be present in relatively high concentrations, and it’s likely that you’ll still be shedding virus during labor. If you are, the risk of transmission to your baby is very high — up to 50 percent.
Can my baby catch herpes from me (or someone else) after delivery?
Yes. About 5 percent of cases of newborn herpes are contracted after birth, and it can be just as dangerous as herpes contracted during labor. But you can usually prevent this if you take care.
Make sure people always wash their hands before touching your baby, and never let anyone with a cold sore kiss, nuzzle, or hold your baby. (Any kind of herpes can be dangerous for a newborn, including the kind that causes cold sores.)
If you have an outbreak anywhere on your body, cover it well to prevent contact with your baby’s skin and thoroughly clean the surrounding area. Wash your hands frequently and carefully, because herpes can be spread from hand to mouth.
It’s possible, though somewhat rare, to get a herpes sore on your finger, called a herpetic whitlow. Anyone with a herpetic whitlow should avoid touching a baby.
Can I breastfeed if I have a herpes outbreak?
It’s safe to breastfeed when you have a herpes outbreak as long as you have no lesions on your breast, you cover all lesions elsewhere, and you wash your hands carefully.
If you have lesions on only one breast, you can nurse your baby on the other breast. Make sure to clean the area thoroughly and to cover the lesion with a dressing taped down on all sides with a clean garment over that.
What would happen if my baby got herpes during delivery or as a newborn?
About a third of the time, newborn herpes affects a baby’s skin, eyes, or mouth, but not his other organs. If that’s the case, he may have sores at delivery or develop them up to four weeks later. They typically turn up between 1 and 2 weeks of age.
Herpes lesions usually look like blisters and can appear anywhere on a baby’s body. They often appear where there has been a small break in the skin or any trauma — like where the hospital wristband was or where an electrode was placed on his head to monitor his heart rate during labor.
If your baby has herpes that’s limited to the skin, eyes, and mouth and gets prompt treatment with intravenous acyclovir, he’ll most likely do well eventually. One study showed that more than 90 percent of babies with this form of herpes were developing normally when they were tested as 1-year-olds, although an infected baby can have serious recurrent outbreaks or long-term problems.
If not treated promptly, a baby who starts out with herpes limited to the skin, eyes, and mouth can go on to develop an even more serious form of herpes.
In another third of newborns who get herpes, the central nervous system is affected. This most often shows up at about 2 to 3 weeks of age with symptoms such as irritability, fever, lethargy, poor feeding, or seizures.
The remaining third of newborns get what’s called disseminated herpes, which involves multiple organs, often the lungs and liver. It typically shows up during the first week after birth. Babies with disseminated herpes may or may not have skin lesions. (If they don’t, diagnosing herpes as the source of the baby’s illness is tricky.)
These latter forms of herpes are very serious. Unfortunately, even with prompt treatment, a number of these babies will die, and many of the survivors will end up with serious long-term health and developmental problems.
Call your baby’s healthcare provider right away if he has a fever; seems lethargic or unusually irritable; is feeding poorly; has sores, blisters, or red or infected-looking eyes; or just doesn’t seem right to you. And be sure to let your child’s doctor know if you or your partner has herpes.
do we need to know such details?????where did you take those exams woman???go ask your doctor for God sake
It really won’t effect it. If you are having an outbreak at the time of birth they will do a c-section. Seeing that you have never had any problems with herpes before there is a chance you never will. It may just stay dormant in your body. I would not worry. Many women with herpes have babies all the time.
Your child will be fine, though if you have an outbreak near your due date or when you go into labour they will probably deliver by cesrarion section
please stop panicing and dont listen to the people who answered above me… if u are concerned then please ask ur doctor…edit…. not those 2 people above….
You will be able to deliver your child without complications due to the Herpes virus. If on the day of the baby’s delivery, you have an outbreak, then the doctor will deliver the baby via cesarean instead of vaginally. This will protect the baby.
No harm will come to your unborn baby because of the Herpes virus.
You should note that there isn’t a very long incubation period for Herpes. And that the only way to get it is through sexual contact. So if you haven’t been sexually active outside of your marriage, then your husband has.
But none of that is important right now. Right now, what’s important is the health of your baby. And as long as you take care of yourself — eating right, getting lots of rest and eating the right things, your little one will be just fine.
Good luck.
Herpes comes in different forms. Usually type A or type B. You might never show signs or symptoms. Cold Sores are the most common type of herpes. I have gotten cold sores since I was a small child. I got them from my mother, neither of my sisters contracted the virus. It’s something that is relatively easy to live with and you have a chance of not passing it on to your unborn child.
Congrats on the Baby. My wife is 24 weeks along with our first child.
You will be ok and so will the baby. What they will do is while you are in labor or right before they will give you a shot. This shot will put a border of medicine around your birth canal that will prevent the baby from getting the herpes while he is being delivered. Dont worry the doctor should know what he is doing. If you still have any concerns about this then talk to him at your next appoinment. Also the baby is already protected now in the womb so dont worry about him getting them while in there.
Jamie’s answer was a great one. I figured I would add to hers by posting a website that may help ease your mind. Also, it is very common for people to not know they have herpes. Make sure your husband gets tested to see if he has it too. If he doesn’t, you two will have to be really careful in the future and you’ll prob have to take something like Valtrex to make sure you don’t give it to him.
ok..firstly you need to relax, theirs no immediate harm to your unborn child, in fact if you do have an outbrk whilst your pregnant its easily treated via creams and oitments. The only complication which may occur is if you have an outbrk whilst your due to give birth if thats the case you will have to have a c section…but really its not as such as you should worry, worrying may bring on a outbrk…
good luck
You must ask a pediatrician and your gynocologist. Then do some research, like WebMD and the CDC (center for disease control).
wow some people can be so judgemental when it comes to herpes. u don’t have to be promiscuous to get them.
i got them from my bf and we are committed to each other for almost 3 years. your hubby could be a carrier and may not know that he has herpes.
most doctors will suggest a c-section in order to help prevent spreading herpes to your baby. there may be some complications if u have outbreaks durring your pregnancy. u should also be on some sort of suppressive medication (Valtrex is safe to take durring pregnancy check it out at babycenter.com). but if there are NO outbreaks or symptoms of an outbreak at the time of delivery then u can have a vaginal birth.
haven’t had any kids yet myself but have had lots of questions for my doctor and did lots of research. mayoclinic.com and webmd.com are good sites to look at as well.
BTW blood tests let u know what type u have but not the locatin so u may have hsv1 orally or genitally the same goes for hsv2.
Herpes is so common, just make sure its mentioned to your doctors and midwives, incase of outbreak they may choose to do a c section so there is no contact to the baby, herpes can kinda be controled, if you have a healthy diet the risk of outbreaks is reduced. you may only get it 2 times in your life it’s just one of those things and it’s not neccesary that it was your husband, you can never find out who gave it to who, the signs are so small you wouldn’t know you had it. it’s a virus that stays dormant in your body until under stress or poor health. If you ever had one coldsore on your mouth as a child or whenever, then kissed your husband then during sex it is transfered. It affects one in three people so doctors and midwives will have seen it a million times before, ask them for reasurance.
just because you tested positive for herpes does not mean that you have it genitally. have you ever had cold sores? if so, this is why you are testing positive. if not, then it’s hard to tell exactly where its coming from (orally or genitally) because the virus can stay dormant in your body for as long as it wants to. but it’s not something to worry or fret over. as long as you are not having any kind of outbreak during childbirth, the rate of transmission is EXTREMELY low. it is NOT likely.1 in 4 women have herpes in the United States and many of them give birth to healthy babies everyday. good luck!