40 weeks pregnant and my son has chicken pox

[Cat1984]

Well I'm 2 days past my due date now and my son came home from school yesterday with chicken pox, his sister also has a few spots on her shoulder that could be and our youngest hasn't had them yet so now I'm worried about if the baby arrives before the kids get over it cause it's likely they could all catch it now isn't it? I've heard they won't let a baby come home from hospital if there's someone with chicken pox at home but I've also heard baby's are immune for the first 6 months, I've got an appointment with midwife today so gonna tell her about them but just wondering what everyone thinks

[ilovepowerhoop]

you'll have to keep your legs crossed!! It can be dangerous for newborns and they dont always have immunity even if breastfed. Speak with your midwife and see what she advises

[stargirl1701]

Have you had chicken pox before?

[ilovepowerhoop]

I dont think thats the issue as if the baby is born now it could catch chicken pox which is dangerous in a newborn. Even if the mother has had chicken pox it doesnt always mean that the immunity is passed to the baby. Others on here have had young breastfed babies who managed to get chicken pox anyway so it is no guarantee that it will help

[ElleDubloo]

Cat1984 - if you haven't had chicken pox before, you need to stay away from your kids, because if you get it for the first time while pregnant it can have really bad effects on the new baby.

[Northernlurker]

Babies are NOT immune. My dd2 caught it from her big sister at 5 months and I have a friend whose older dc did indeed come out with it at the same stage as you and whose newborn caught it with thankfully no serious effects. Situations like yours are exactly WHY we should vaccinate against chicken pox. Your youngest child is highly likely to catch it so even if you go two weeks over due the baby is still going to arrive in the midst. Talk to your midwife and get her to talk to the hospital about the situation.

[Cat1984]

I was thinking that
Luckily my baby's are always late and my last 3 pregnancy's had to be induced due to them just being late so I'll probably have to be induced this time too but I'm thinking what if they get over chicken pox, baby arrives and then my other little girl comes out in spots as they don't show till a week after they've first caught it.
My son has bad timing

[Cat1984]

I had chicken pox as a child, I remember clearly cause I had to miss out on my brothers birthday party and was not impressed

[Christelle2207]

Given the situation they may be able to give you/baby when born antivirals which cam stop it in its tracks I believe.

[Cat1984]

If my daughters spots are definitely chicken pox and our youngest girl comes out in spots within a day or 2 we might be ok but if not me and baby will probably just have to stay in hospital till it's safe to come home. My partner can look after the kids if it means our baby is safe, I've seen this coming for weeks as it's been going round a lot and some friends kids have had chicken pox recently

[stargirl1701]

Ok. If you have had chicken pox then you only need to think about what happens post birth. You need to calculate when your children will no longer be contagious so you can work out when to bring baby home.

Has your DH had chicken pox?

[Cat1984]

I hope so christelle, I'm just so worried atm, I don't want to feel like I'm abandoning my kids while they're poorly and need their mum but also I want to keep baby safe

[Northernlurker]

You might get lucky then and find all the kids have caught it from the same source and your baby is late and so all ok.

[Cat1984]

DH says he thinks he's had it, I've told him to find out for definite though stargirl.

I know they stop being contagious after the last spot has scabbed over but can't remember how long they take, my eldest 2 have already had chicken pox years before and think it lates around a week but not decimate about that

[Cat1984]

Got my fingers crossed northernlurker

Was gonna have a stretch and sweep today but that's gone out the window, been trying everything I can to set labour off but will be resting now and hoping she stays put

[stargirl1701]

Info here about contagious period:

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Chickenpox/Pages/Causes.aspx

There is a blood test that can check previous exposure and immunity.

[Cat1984]

Thanks stargirl

[KeepSmiling83]

My DD has got it at the moment. It has taken just short of 2 weeks from the first spot appearing to them all crusting over.

[Cat1984]

Well I've been to see the midwife and she said newborns have some immunity to chicken pox and it's rare for them to catch it, I've just to mention to the peadiatrition if the kids are still contagious but they won't keep us in hospital because it would take weeks for chicken pox to get through all the kids but there's nothing they can do and if she catches them then it'll be better for her cause she won't be able to scratch them so I'll just have to wait and see what happens

[MirandaWest]

Babies definitely can get it under 6 months as DD got it when she was 6 weeks (DS helpfully got it when she was 4 weeks old and despite my breast feeding which many people told me meant DD would be fine, she still got it and was very spotty. She didn't have any issues with having chicken pox though - it basically made her more sleepy).

Hope you are all ok over the next few weeks.

[Cat1984]

I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed, I don't really want her to catch chicken pox so early but will just have to deal with it if it happens

Thank you Miranda, glad your daughter was ok

[Mintymoomoo]

I know someone who's dd came out with the pox the day she had a c/section, she was home a couple of days later and at 2 weeks old the baby got the pox, she was breast fed and 100% fine, I don't think there was any talk of keeping her in hospital I think it's more dangerous to unborn babies