Women with genital herpes
May 13th, 2008 | by admin |If you are pregnant and you have genital herpes, you may be concerned about the risk of spreading the infection to your baby. Be reassured that the risk is extremely small—especially if you have had herpes for some time. The following steps can help make the risk even smaller:
• Talk with your obstetrician or midwife. Make sure he or she knows you have genital herpes.
• At the time of labor, your health care provider should examine you early in labor with a strong light to detect any sores or signs of an outbreak. Let your provider know if you have any signs of an outbreak—itching, tingling, or pain.
• If you have an active outbreak at the time of delivery, the safest course is a Cesarean section to prevent the baby from coming into contact with virus in the birth canal. If you do not have an active outbreak, you can have a vaginal delivery.
• Ask your doctor not to break the bag of waters around the baby unless necessary. The bag of waters may help protect the baby against any virus in the birth canal.
• Ask your doctor not to use a fetal scalp monitor (scalp electrodes) during labor to monitor the baby’s heart rate unless medically necessary. This instrument makes tiny punctures in the baby’s scalp, which may allow herpes virus to enter. In most cases, an external monitor can be used instead.
• Ask that a vacuum or forceps not be used during delivery unless medically necessary. These instruments can also cause breaks in the baby’s scalp, allowing virus to enter.
• After birth, watch the baby closely for about three weeks. Symptoms of neonatal herpes may include a skin rash, fever, crankiness, or lack of appetite. While these can be symptoms of several mild illnesses, don’t wait to see if your baby will get better. Take him or her to the pediatrician at once. Be sure to tell the pediatrician you have genital herpes.
• The odds are strongly in favor of your having a healthy baby.
