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HSV 2 and Pregnancy
I'm 28 weeks pregnant with my 1st child and i noticed a bump in the vaginal area. I have never noticed anything like this before, so I went to the doctor to get it checked out. Turns out, it is genital herpes. My question is how come I have never had a "break-out" before and how will this affect my pregnany? The father of the baby got tested for herpes and the tests came back negative, so this must not be a new case. I have been psycholoigically destroyed thinking that I can cause harm to my baby. Should I really be as worried as I am?
chances are good that they didn't test you for herpes at the begining of your prengnacy. Not many clinics do. It doesn't hurt to ask though.
Just make sure that your doctor is starting you on the right doses of antivirals at 36 weeks.
grace
Just make sure that your doctor is starting you on the right doses of antivirals at 36 weeks.
grace
I had a bump, or lesion, and I didn't know what it was, so that is when I went to the doctor. He performed a culture on the lesion and it came back as HSV 2. I did not have a blood test. I didnt ask my doctor, but I thought the STD blood test that was done in the beginning of pregnancy tested for everything including herpes. The doctor did say he is going to start me on valtrex at 36 weeks and that I shouldnt be worried about anything, but it was just shocking to find this out while I was pregnant. Thank you for your help!
Congratulations on being pregnant!! Being over halfway thru is always a good feeling too :)
How were you diagnosed as having genital herpes though? Did you have a lesion culture and typing?Did you have a blood test? Do you know if it's hsv1 or hsv2 or was it just a visual diagnosis of genital herpes?
If we assume that indeed you have genital herpes and that it's hsv2 genitally that you acquired before you met your current partner and just never knew it - then it's not a risk at all to the baby until the time of delivery. I encourage you to read the herpes handbook at www.westoverheights.com at some point to learn more about genital herpes in general. There is also an entire section on pregnancy and herpes too. Basically if you don't have any active lesions at the time of delivery - there's a less than 1% risk of transmitting hsv2 to your baby at the time of delivery. Have an active lesion present and a c section will be performed. It's also become common practive in the US for expectant mom's with genital herpes to take daily suppressive therapy in the higher pregnancy doses for the last month of pregnancy to help reduce the risk of having an obvious lesion at the time of delivery so that you can increase the chances of being able to deliver vaginally. It's something you and your OB doc need to talk about at your next appointment. I think it helps to specifically talk about all this, have a plan in place and written down in your chart so there are no questions/panicking closer to the time of delivery!!! also you can treat your ob's during pregnancy - did they give you medication to do so?
Your baby is safe inside of you right now :) No issues because of the herpes infection that as for now we'll assume you've had since before you were pregnant. Mother nature does a good job at keeping the baby safe inside of you from common infections like this :)
grace
How were you diagnosed as having genital herpes though? Did you have a lesion culture and typing?Did you have a blood test? Do you know if it's hsv1 or hsv2 or was it just a visual diagnosis of genital herpes?
If we assume that indeed you have genital herpes and that it's hsv2 genitally that you acquired before you met your current partner and just never knew it - then it's not a risk at all to the baby until the time of delivery. I encourage you to read the herpes handbook at www.westoverheights.com at some point to learn more about genital herpes in general. There is also an entire section on pregnancy and herpes too. Basically if you don't have any active lesions at the time of delivery - there's a less than 1% risk of transmitting hsv2 to your baby at the time of delivery. Have an active lesion present and a c section will be performed. It's also become common practive in the US for expectant mom's with genital herpes to take daily suppressive therapy in the higher pregnancy doses for the last month of pregnancy to help reduce the risk of having an obvious lesion at the time of delivery so that you can increase the chances of being able to deliver vaginally. It's something you and your OB doc need to talk about at your next appointment. I think it helps to specifically talk about all this, have a plan in place and written down in your chart so there are no questions/panicking closer to the time of delivery!!! also you can treat your ob's during pregnancy - did they give you medication to do so?
Your baby is safe inside of you right now :) No issues because of the herpes infection that as for now we'll assume you've had since before you were pregnant. Mother nature does a good job at keeping the baby safe inside of you from common infections like this :)
grace
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Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
