6 weeks preggers ds has Slapcheek

[nickiey]

Obviously it would happen now-I know there is a risk to the baby, Ive got to go into the docs today for some blood tests.
There isnt anything they can do i dont think, I almost feel like im just sat here waiting for the bleeding to start.
To make it all worse I cant comfort my son as a tiny part of me is saying you might not have caught it yet so dont risk it. Of course tho this is me, Im not on pregnancy number 7 because things go well for me.

This is shit, i feel like ripping my head off and flushing it down the loo.

[Elf1981]

Please calm down, I know it isn't easy. I was exposed to slapped cheek syndrom when I was about 8 or 9 weeks pregnant.
I had the blood test (it takes a while to come through unfortunately) and I had been exposed previously.
Chances are you have already had it, a lot of people do and haven't realised as it is commenly mistaken for teething (bright red cheeks).
I was told that if I had not been exposed previously, the risk to the pregnancy was very very very small, and all it would involved was extra monitoring. IIRC, it was more dangerous later in the pregnancy.
Keep us posted about your blood results, but please try to put it out of your mind for the time being (I do realise it is very hard to do, but the stress will not be doing you any good).

[katzg]

70% of the population has had slapped cheak so you are most probaby in that percentage. My DD1 caught it when i was pg with dd2, 18 weeks.

heres what nhs direct say:
Medical advice should be sought if infection by the virus is suspected during pregnancy. A blood test for antibodies to parvovirus B19 will be done. This tests for current or previous infection. If you test positive for parvovirus in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, you can be monitored with ultrasound examinations. However most pregnant women with parvovirus infection have normal, healthy babies and most pregnant women are not at risk for parvovirus infection because of immunity. There is no evidence to suggest that reinfection or reactivation of the virus is a risk to the foetus, nor any increased risk of abnormality occurring in newborns or later in life.

[nickiey]

Thanks peeps,
reading my post back i do sound like a nutter on speed but I just cant help it-the worry is so intense.
This pregnancy is so wanted and again ive made the fatal mistake of believing in it before baby got here safe and sound.
Thanks for your words of support but this is all so reminiscent of times gone by-different reasons but same outcome.

[littlemisspiggy]

Hi, sorry to sound ignorant but I have never heard of slapped cheek. What is it? what are the symptoms and why does it sound so dangerous?

I do hope whatever it is that you get through this ok. Sounds frightening.

[Elf1981]

Slapped cheek syndrome is caused by a virus called parvovirus B19. Also known as "erythema infectiosum" or "fifth disease", it is a common childhood disease, and has become more common recently. It is a mild disease in children, causing a slapped cheek appearance. Interestingly, the rash occurs after the child stops being contagious (unless they also have a rare complication): a child with a rash is not contagious, but they may have been incubating the condition for the previous 4 to 20 days. As the illness is usually only diagnosed after the rash has appeared, there is seldom any reason to exclude children with the condition from school.

About 60% of us contract the condition as children, and this gives us life-long immunity to future episodes. People with immunity cannot catch the virus again.

Rarely, if a woman catches the virus while pregnant, the baby may also catch the virus. If a woman becomes infected before the first 20 weeks of pregnancy there is an increased risk of miscarriage of about 10%. Nothing can be done to prevent miscarriages due to parvovirus B19 infection.

Rarely parvovirus B19 infection may make the baby anaemic, which can cause a condition known as hydrops fetalis. Women who become infected between 9 and 20 weeks of pregnancy have a 3% risk of hydrops fetalis. This can cause a stillbirth. It can, however, be diagnosed from ultrasound scans, and treatment may prevent a stillbirth.

As most adult women are already immune to parvovirus B19, fewer than 1% of women who are exposed to the virus between 9 and 20 weeks of pregnancy will develop hydrops fetalis. (See appendix for details of this calculation.)

TAKEN FROM www.fam-english.demon.co.uk/parvovir.htm