Slapped Cheeks advice please re: contact with pregnant woman

[EvaLongoria]

Hi All

I'm after some advice. Yesterday the kids returned to school and when I collected 5 year old DD1 I saw her best friend had very red cheeks. Mum then told me its Slapped Cheeks.

This morning when we woke DD woke with red face. Not as bad as friend but definitely that. They saw each other about 10 days ago (apparently when it was contagious) Called friends mum who said that school and NHS said it was fine for her to go to school. DH took her in and friends mum had to pick her up as agreed. Tonight when I collected her the mum said school said that they have to be kept off school for 5-7 days.

My problem was we saw a few friends over holidays and I also went to my local toddler group which runs during holidays as most of us have older kids and young ones. One of the ladies have 2 boys at the group and she is 20 weeks pregnant with her 3rd. Would this have put the pregnancy at risk?

[dreamingofanallotment]

The pregnant mum is more than likely to have come into contact with the virus before, especially as she has children, so will have immunity. It would be worth letting her know though, as she can mention it to the midwife if she's worried. I was teaching 5 year olds when pregnant and asked to have an extra blood test for slapped cheek to check I was immune, as the virus is so common.

Not sure why the school are saying 5-7 days though - once the rash is present they're no longer infectious. Might be worth speaking to them again!

[washngo]

I got slapped cheek when pregnant and had to have extra scans every 2 weeks. A little girl who was in my class had it, and her mum told me which meant I could have a blood test to check for immunity (which showed I'd caught it). Might be an idea to mention it to her.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Yes, you should definetly let her know. If she herself becomes affected it can be so mild in adults that she might not realise. She needs to get a blood test done, if she has been affected they can monitor/attempt to treat. I've known fetuses have to have blood transfusions in utero due to becoming so anaemic after their mothers got parvovirus. Sadly I've also known babies be stillborn.

[DanniiH]

Yep let her know so she can be tested. My friend is a gp so was sure she'd had it when her daughter got it but blood test showed she had caught it so she had to have fortnightly scans for the re,winder of pregnancy, luckily the baby was unaffected but it can cause severe anaemia! x

[DeWe]

Well, bad news is it's the second tremestre (13-25 weesk?) which is the time when slapped cheek causes most problems, so i think you have to tell her.

The good news is that most adults had it without realising as a child and are now immune.

Child I nannied had slapped cheek when I was pregnant, so I had close contact with her both before and during the illness, and I didn't get it although dm was certain I'd never had it noticably.