My girlfriend & I were talking about herpes and pregnancy. Is it safe to take suppressive therapy while preg?
We are kind of in a little debate about it. I've heard that you can have a vaginal delivery if you do not have an outbreak during labor. What I don't know is if a suppressant can be taken during pregnancy to prevent an outbreak. I say yes...she says no. Has anyone had any experience with this? Your much needed info is appreciated :)
- ♥☻ Da NC Princess♥☻
Currently all women who have an outbreak of genital herpes, primary or recurrent, should have a cesarean section to reduce the exposure of the infant to the herpes simplex virus.
Will I need a cesarean delivery if I have herpes?
That depends on when you first got herpes, and whether you're having an outbreak or symptoms of an impending outbreak when your water breaks or when you go into labor (whichever happens first). 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 — you'll have an immediate cesarean delivery. (Your practitioner won't have time to wait 24 to 48 hours for the results of a culture for herpes to see if you're definitely having an outbreak.) The only exception might be if you go into labor very prematurely. In that case, your practitioner may try to postpone delivery to give your baby more time to mature.
If you were first infected with genital herpes during the first half of your pregnancy or before you got pregnant, and you have no symptoms 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. That's because you develop antibodies to herpes six to 12 weeks after first contracting the disease, so if you already had herpes or contracted it early enough in pregnancy, you'd be able to pass on some immunity to your baby through the placenta before labor. To improve your chances of being able to deliver vaginally, some experts recommend that pregnant women with herpes — particularly those with symptomatic recurrent outbreaks during pregnancy — take antiviral medication orally from 36 weeks until delivery to reduce the risk of an outbreak at the time of labor.
However, if you first get genital herpes in your third trimester, 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, because the risk of transmission to your baby is so high (up to 50 percent).
- mominohio
If you have herpes you have to have a c-section no matter if you have a breakout or not. My moms friend unfortunatly caught it when she was young and not thinking and she has 2 kids but she had to have scheduled c-sections and no the Dr wouldn't approve suppressive meds during pregnancy.
- SuperKelly
Whether or not you have a c-section depends on if you have an active outbreak during delivery. I've never been on supressive therapy because I very rarely have outbreaks so I'm not sure about that, but I've had two vaginal deliveries so far and this will hopefully be my third.
This link has info on the pros and cons of c-section vs. vaginal deliveries when infected as well as info on supressive therapy during pregnancy.
http://www.herpes.com/pregnancy.shtml
- Amanda F
If your doctor knows you have herpes, they will give you a C-section, otherwise you run risk of giving it to your baby. That wouldn't be such a nice welcome to the world gift. Anyway, good luck.
- mayflower25
Yes, you CAN have a vaginal delivery if you do not have an outbreak at the time of the birth.
In a study conducted in the UK, all cases of neonatal herpes were in babies born to mothers who caught herpes for the first time in the last three months of pregnancy - no babies whose mothers had the virus prior to pregnancy caught it at all.
My sister, like me, has genital herpes, and she has had three healthy babies by vaginal delivery with no issues at all.
Yes, it is safe to take suppressive therapy while pregnant. Whether it is given depends on the medical policy in the country you live in.
I live in the UK, where it was concluded that it wasn't worth giving suppressive therapy to all pregnant women with herpes. However, in the US it is standard policy to recommend suppressive therapy for the last four weeks of the pregnancy - this reduces the risk that you will be having an outbreak at the birth.
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Herpes and Pregnancy
Freshmen health class video to help prevent students from having unprotected sex.
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