What Happens Next!

[ikybum]

My finance has genital herpes, we have never been intimate but we are thinking about having children together. If we do can they be born with Herpes or any other diseases?

[auntiejessi]

Yes, you can.  

You don't mention what gender you are, or what gender your partner is.

If your partner is female, the only risk to a baby would be if she contracted herpes during the third trimester (last 3 months of pregnancy), or if she had an outbreak at the time of delivery.   Assuming your partner is female, she already has it, and she can have a c-section if she has an outbreak at delivery.  Her doctor might also put her on meds during the last 6 weeks of pregnancy to prevent this.

If you are male, the chances of you getting this are about 4% per year if all you do is avoid sex when she has symptoms, assuming she has type 2 genitally (if she doesn't know, she should get a type specific IgG blood test to find out).  That's a 96% chance you wouldn't get it.  If she takes an antiviral everyday, its a 98% chance that you wouldn't get it per year.

If you aren't male, I can give you some advice about that, but you should also update your profile to show that you are female for better advice.  :)

Aj

[ikybum]

I am Female without any herpes and my finance has it! we are not intimate as of yet! thanks for your input lol ikybum!

[auntiejessi]

OK female -

Your chances of getting herpes from him if all you do is avoid sex during an outbreak is 8-10% per year.  If he is on daily valtrex or acyclovir, its 4-5%.

If you don't get herpes by the time you are pregnant, it would be a good idea to avoid sex during your last trimester to prevent it.

Aj

[daisy315]

I know this is not relevant to the question but I thought I'd tell you anyway,my Friends have been in a relationship for 6 years he has had Genital Herpes for 7 years she does not  have it they have a normal sex life,the only difference to any other couple is that they  abstain from sex during an active outbreak,he is on Suppressive Therapy,she has not contracted it in those 6 years,she does however get tested every so often ......
However if you are planning to have a baby together it would be wise to have closer  monitoring of the situation during the pregnancy and prior to the birth to ensure you have not contracted HSV2 for the reasons AJ has given ......

I wish you well,it's so refreshing to read of someone not allowing Herpes to interfere with a happy relationship and life together as a family,too often narrow mindededness and lack of education on HSV2 by a lot of people causes uneccesary anxiety to those of us who have it by making us feel like outcasts,it is a very common skin condition which if  treated sensibly and with caution during outbreaks will cause no problems at all within a relationship.

Daisy