For partners of pregnant women
May 20th, 2008 | by admin | If your partner is pregnant, and she does not have genital herpes, you can help ensure that the baby remains safe from infection. Find out whether you have genital herpes (see “How can I find out if I have herpes?”). Remember, more than 20% of Americans have genital herpes, and most do not have symptoms. If you find that you have the virus, follow these guidelines to protect your partner during the pregnancy:
- Use condoms from start to finish every time you have sexual contact, even if you have no symptoms. Herpes can be spread when no symptoms are present (through a process called asymptomatic shedding).
- If you have genital outbreaks, abstain from sex until the outbreak has completely healed.
- Talk with your health care provider about taking antiviral medication to suppress outbreaks and to significantly reduce the risk of transmission between outbreaks.
- Consider abstaining from sex (oral, vaginal, and anal) during the last trimester. Explore alternatives such as touching, kissing, fantasizing, and massage.
If you have oral herpes (sometimes called cold sores or fever blisters), avoid performing oral sex on your partner to prevent transmitting the virus.
