Slapped Cheek - hand holding please

[theowlwhowasafraidofthedark]

Yesterday dc1 was diagnosed with slapped cheek. I'm currently 14 weeks pregnant with dc3 who was conceived by ivf. Feel sick with fear. I have to wait until the end of next week for my initial blood test result (from booking in appointment).

Can anyone explain what happens if the test comes back negative (ie no immunity)
Thanks

Sorry to hear you're going through this, it's extra stress you really don't need especially after all the emotional and physical upheaval of IVF. I'm afraid I can't tell you what happens if you don't have the immunity, but I was in a similar situation when 6 weeks pregnant with DS2 and DS1 had slapped cheek. Thankfully the blood test came back that I did have immunity. I just wanted to say, I think it would be unlikely that you hadn't been exposed to it before, but it's a horrible anxious time. Hope everything works out ok for you, and please remember, even if you are not immune things still may be ok, it's a risk but not a certainty of miscarriage etc.

Owl, i'm sure you've googled to death, but it does appear the risks are tiny, as the vast majority of us have apparently been exposed to it already- and more to the point even if you do get it, only 2% of the time does it cross the placenta, pretty great odds dont you think?
:

Complications in pregnant women
If a pregnant woman is exposed to this illness for the first time in her life, and she comes down with the symptoms of the illness, then there is a very small risk of a miscarriage. This risk is much greater during the first half of pregnancy (1 in 10).
However, the good news is that the vast majority of adults have acquired this infection at some point during their lives, and are therefore immune to it.
Even if you are infected, only 2 - 3% of infected pregnant women have an infected foetus. The infection results in the production of red blood cells being interrupted in the baby.
If you are pregnant and have been in contact with a person with the virus and are unsure of your immunity to it then your doctor may arrange for you to have a blood test.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for slap cheek so if you have been infected, it is likely that you will be given regular ultrasound scans so that the health of your baby can be carefully assessed.
Most pregnant women who have slapped cheek disease have healthy babies.

Hi OP. This happened to me at Christmas. Your blood will be tested to see if you are immune to parvovirus. Keep in mind that 60% of adults in the UK are. If you are not immune, you may be offered a fetal blood transfusion.

I found this link:

www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1294740918985

I found the whole experience very stressful. I think the waiting is the hardest. Ask whoever takes the blood to phone the lab to get a definitive date for the result. I was fobbed off repeatedly until I cried on the phone! A GP then called the lab to find out. That lab only tests for parvovirus on a Friday (FFS!) but at least I knew when to expect the result.

I was immune, thankfully. But, it was a long (14 days) wait to find out.

Thanks guys, especially for the hpa link.

Dreading the wait. The 2ww after ivf was beyond awful so not sure how I'm going to manage this. No choice though! Feel so hopeless

So today I'm feeling really ill :(
Wait for next week is unbearable

How are doing today Owl?

My DD's childminder has just told us another mindee has chicken pox so I am going through all of it again. Bloods to be analysed to see if I am immune. I believe it's possibly a treatment of anti-vitals for this.

I am feeling incredibly unlucky.

Hi Star
Feeling a bit better today. Dh took the day off work so haven't had to worry about the kids.

Sorry about the chicken pox scare. There are definitely anti-virals for chicken pox , my mum had them when dc1 got it when she was having chemotherapy (she didn't get cp).

I'm feeling unlucky too but I guess its the outcome which matters so trying to pull myself together a bit. Wish things could be a bit more straightforward though

It's so hard to stay positive when faced with something like this. I'm glad you've had a better day. Can your DH take over this weekend?

I was in a similar situation when there was an out break at work (work with children). Had a blood test and I was immune. Most adults are. Try not to worry.

Hi Owl

I don't know the answer to your question but I just wanted to write and say my SIL caught this from the kids at her school whilst she was pregnant. I don't know all the details of her tests but I do know she had scans every two weeks to keep an eye on things and my nephew was born perfectly healthy. It just never passed over to him. The fortnightly scans meant she got to see the bubba more often and it was all fine in the end. I just wanted to post this story, I know it doesn't take away from your own worry, but I hope it is provides some positive hand holding to help keep your chin up a little x

Thanks (other) owl! I was really hoping I was immune as I was the last person in the house to get ill. Still I guess it could just be a cold/flu type virus I've got, there's loads going round this time of year.

LondonJen - I'm trying to focus that its only a small chance of something going wrong even if I do have slapped cheek. Its just hard because for various reasons all my pregnancies have been crap so far and it would be nice to have a more relaxing one this time!

dc2 definitely has it today, her cheeks are bright red and a rash is appearing on her body. She's in good spirits though. I've still got a bit of a fever and sore throat so am resigned to finding out I'm not immune next week and then getting a positive result later on. Does anyone know how long you have to wait before they do the blood test to see if you've had it recently?

How're you feeling star? How long will you have to wait for your test results?