35 weeks - no immunity to chicken pox !- worried

[missfitz23]

Hi all !
A blood test I had showed I've not got any immunity to chicken pox and I can't help but get so worked up about if My ds will catch chicken pox at pre school as he's never had it yet .. I'm not immune so all I keep thinking is he's gonna bring it home and pass it on to me . I think I'm getting worried more again as Apparantly 36 onwards is the riskiest time to catch it as baby can be born with it and it's severely dangerous in just born babies and has a 30 percent mortality rate if born with it. I'm anxious anyway that something will go wrong due to my stillbirth last year. I just keep thinking the worst and I feel stupid but I was even gonna take him out of preschool until baby is here but I know that's irrational. I just know my luck and these next 5 weeks I cannot catch it and I bet I do .... I've told nursery to let me know of any outbreaks but by that point ds would already have been exposed , I also looked in to the vaccine for ds but my gp advised against as 10 percent of the rashes kids can get from the jab are as contagious as actual pox . Sorry to ramble but I'm just letting this anxiety about catching it get the better of me

The UK vaccine is live but weakened which is why your GP has recommended that you don't have the jab just yet. If your child did shed live virus you'd be at risk.

The main risk periods are the first/very early second trimester and around birth, when you're at risk of pneumonia if you catch it. You can be vaccinated as soon as you deliver the baby and it's best to have two doses - one postpartum and one at your six week check is ideal.

Late winter and March/April/may are the normal season for it in the UK, so you're not in the peak season just now. Take some comfort from that!

What did your GP recommend that you do? It's understandable to be anxious after an experience like stillbirth.

I would be inclined to get a second opinion on whether your DS should have it or not as the NHS website says that it is recommended for siblings of children who are auto-immune compromised (such as having leukaemia treatment) and so it would surprise me if it was not safe for you for DS to have it.

One of my friend's toddlers caught it a week after she had her second. After a brief panic and sending the Dad and toddler overnight to a friend's they saw their GP who was fairly relaxed and said they could all be in the same house but to restrict access between the toddler and newborn.

It's completely understandable that you are worried given your stillbirth but I would think that the risk of something bad happening is very, very small. Maybe make enquiries with a private clinic to see what they recommend and then you can always speak to your GP again. I think chicken pox main "season" is later in the year, November to February so the time of year is hopefully in your favour too.

Thank you both that rally helps . My mum also said it's not the season but I've seen a few spotty kids when I'm out and about in town . So I keep thinking what it a case happens at his preschool. I am aware I sound over th top but I'm just so anxious about it .

I came home with chicken pox, age three. Neither of my parents had an immunity, both came down with it. My mother was also in her third trimester of pregnancy. They were both positively miserable, and my mom swears she could feel the baby itching inside her! My little sister, though, is today a truly lovely 27 year old with absolutely no developmental issues from her pox episode in utero.

I'm in the same boat OP, I'm not immune and have a toddler. There was a child with pox at a baby group a few weeks ago and I was so worried, but either they were past the contagious stage or we weren't near enough.
Most people are careful around pregnant women so you should be ok

It's awful isn't it. I don't know how I'm not immune it's so so annoying
How many weeks are you abbey?
Does your toddler go to preschool or anything yet? I have a feeling it's there mine would pick it up

I've got no idea either, I'm pretty sure it went round when I was at school. I'm 32 weeks and keep seeing spotty kids it seems. He's 1 and not at nursery yet but we do go to a lot of groups

Same I keep seeing poxy kids and feeling panicked .!

There was a bout of chicken pox at my DD's nursery when she first started at 20 months (whilst I was in my busiest period at work and DH was abroad for work so I panicked!) but DD avoided catching it somehow so your DS would not necessarily get it if pre-school have a case, although there is obviously a higher risk if there is a case when he is there.

But I've also not seen any nursery notices about it since last winter and none of my friend's children have had it recently so I think you should be okay. The kids with spots you are seeing might not be chicken pox - could be a viral rash going around which can present very similarly (but the spots tend not to blister).

I hope so thanks for the advice :)

What's the chances I catch in in the next 4-5 weeks ? Son goes preschool 3x a week

Also would
You take lo out of preschool for the next 4 weeks as a precaution? Given how common chicken pox is ? Or is that over the top

I think your DS is pretty unlikely to catch CP at pre-school given the time of year.

The most important thing is for you to be happy and be as comfortable as you can in the last stages of your pregnancy. If taking him out of pre-school will make you less worried then you should do it BUT with due consideration to the risks of the alternatives. I presume you would not want to stay home with him all day every day if you keep him home and if you are going to be taking him to the park/library/play groups/children's centres etc then he could just as easily catch CP anywhere you go with other children. Again, a fairly unlikely outcome in my opinion but a possible one nevertheless so you need to weigh that up against the low risk at nursery.

For me, I'd keep him in pre-school. My DD does 3 days a week too and I am looking forward to those three days of rest once I go on mat leave in December before the new baby arrives. I am just a bit gutted that my early Jan due date means that I will have her home full time for the last two weeks of my mat leave due to the Christmas break! It would not have occurred to me to take her out due to CP risk before reading your thread although it will be a contagious time of year. Although in our case I had her vaccinated last year so we should hopefully be protected. Then again I guess I could catch it from another child on pick up/drop off.

Are you immune badger

I am not sure to be honest. I had CP as a child but I think it's one of those immunities which can wear off like rubella (which I had a long saga with being tested/retested/vaccinated and then having to wait to try and have a baby just before an IVF cycle). I don't think my CP immunity has been tested in either of my pregnancies.

It's so worrying, isn't it? I'm only 8 weeks pregnant, but was exposed to chickenpox via DS a month ago. I have no immunity, despite taking the precaution of having two doses of the chickenpox vaccination before conceiving this baby. It didn't work! I had to go to A and E for three shots of immunoglobulin, and then take time off work in case I spread the infection (work brings me into contact with some at-risk older people).

At the moment we are spending more money than we can afford on a nanny, because the nursery, given my lack of immunity, is advising DS to stay away until the outbreak at nursery has calmed down. Problem is, that may take months and it's not really sustainable - or good for DS - to be off school for the remaining 7 months of my pregnancy!

I wish, wish, wish we had a vaccination programme in this country which included chickenpox for young children.