Herpes worry

[kidsareok]

Hi! Just want to message as I'm freaking out! I've had herpes for 11 years and I get outbreaks quite frequently and badly. I've been on suppressive therapy a few times and it does get better afterwards but always reverts to the same cycle. Anyway, I'm 12+2 weeks pregnant, not on suppressive therapy and I'm having a painful outbreak. I have a lot of blisters and I feel slight cramps down below - which I always do with a bad outbreak. I'm terrified of passing it to the baby whilst it's growing and scared of what could happen. I am due to see a consultant next week who is going to discuss this all with me and work out what to do for the birth but I was just wondering if anyone has or knows anyone who has a herpes outbreak that may have caused a miscarriage or a problem with the foetus whilst in the womb? Is that possible? Has anyone taken suppressive therapy throughout the whole of pregnancy with no harm to the baby? I had a private scan a few weeks ago and everything looked really good - I'd be devastated if anything went wrong and it was all due to this. Thanks!

It can cause ptoblems. Midwives will ask about any stds and you will get tested they could do a c section to minimise risk.
I believe a natural birth when you have an active herpes attack can cause blindness in newborns.

Nope, it’s only a problem for babies if it’s your first herpes outbreak if you have it in labour as you’ve had it for 11 years should be no problems and can still have vaginal birth
They only worry if it’s a first outbreak

it’s much more of a problem if caught for the first time in pregnancy. I can’t speak for the outbreak now but I took antivirals for the last month before the birth to prevent an outbreak.

Nope, you can have a normal birth even with an active breakout, as long as it’s not your first breakout, which it isn’t, so you’re all fine!

As this isn't the first infection you don't need to worry, so try and relax. Stress makes outbreaks worse! Sorry you're suffering now - are you taking some paracetamol to ease the discomfort? Your baby cannot be harmed in the womb by the herpes as you've had it 11 years and have built up antibodies. If you catch it while pregnant, that's when it can be dangerous. Talk to the consultant and your midwife, but if you dont have an outbreak at birth there's nothing to worry about. The suppressive treatment should help as the drugs will be in your system keeping things in check, and they're safe for baby. You can ask the midwives to check you carefully in labour, and if you have an active outbreak there is the option of a c section. Early pregnancy is so worrying, but please try not to worry about this. Focus on getting rest and taking care of yourself, hopefully this outbreak will be over soon xx

@GinasWig I hope you’re following this, it’s really unhelpful to give inaccurate and scary advice that’s out of date.

Thanks so much everyone for your advice! It is such a worrying time in early pregnancy, I'd hate to think this could harm the baby so thank you so much! It's great that we have this forum to ask questions on
Choosing to ignore the comments from the insensitive poster!
Have a great weekend 😀

Hi OP, I also unfortunately have this too. Rubbish isn’t it. My first pregnancy I didn’t have any flare ups so it wasn’t even really mentioned but my second pregnancy I had a flare up at about 37 weeks, I called for advice and spoke to a really unsympathetic midwife who basically said Over the phone without even seeing me that I’d have to have a c section now which I was upset about as I had a really awful induced labour first time and I really wanted the second to be as natural as possible. However after seeing a consultant she confirmed as long as I wasn’t in labour during the shedding stage of the outbreak (when the blisters burst) it wasn’t really an issue. I went on to have a natural water birth.
One thing I did feel when I was going through this is there did seem to be a lack in knowledge with this generally and it seemed like a big grey area! Even the consultant seemed to be looking it up on her computer while talking to me.

I hope the doctors can give you something to calm down your outbreaks, like pregnancy isn’t hard enough!

I’ve had it for 17 years, have a few outbreaks a year but thankfully none during pregnancy. I’m now 37 weeks pregnant and apart from telling the midwife at my first appointment it’s not been mentioned since. It’s reassuring to hear people say it’s nothing to worry about x

Hi Moms, please help.
Iam pregnant 33 weeks my 2nd pregnancy and just been diagnosed with herpes. I dont know where i got it i have been with my partner for 7 years now. He had sexual relations before that and they are saying he could be a carrier without symptoms ? Is that right? And why now is it transmitted to me? Qny one knows? They gave me Aciclovir 3 times a day for now but iam very sad ans devistated and depressed? Plz tell me what to do now and what about giving birth? Iam thinking to insist on c section. Plz advise

I also have this and currently 39 weeks pregnant, I had a couple of outbreaks mainly in second trimester and like you was worried. I spoke to my doctor and also a consultant and they both reassured me that as I had had it for 4 years there was no risk to the baby while she was in the womb, the only risk is during the birth like previous posters have said and even then if you do happen to be having an outbreak and deliver naturally the risk is very small as baby will have received antibodies from you.
During my outbreaks I didnt take any tablets as luckily they were quite minor and sorted themselves out within a few days, if I had any severe outbreaks I would have taken a course of anti virals as it's safe during pregnancy (and also breastfeeding). From 36 weeks I've been on suppressive therapy (400mg acyclovir 3 times a day) and will continue to take this until she is here and probably for a week after just to avoid any discomfort of getting an outbreak days after birth!
I spoke to a consultant twice about this but at my last appointment with them at 36 weeks they discharged me to midwife led care and reassured me again that the risk is something like less than 1% transmission to babies during birth and this is more likely for those people who don't know they have the virus and unknowingly have an outbreak at the time of delivery. It's also a higher risk if you get the virus or a first outbreak during pregnancy, specifically 3rd trimester, as your body will not have had time to develop antibodies (even then still quite small in the grand scheme of things).

So the position you are in is the safest one possible as you are aware of the virus and know the symptoms of an outbreak, you can also ask to be put on suppressive therapy from 36 weeks to put your mind at rest in the run up to birth.

I would agree with a previous poster that it's quite hit and miss with how much your midwife might know about the virus, one of mine didn't know anything and made some sweeping statements but the other two were very unconcerned and happy for me to take the suppressive therapy and birth on a midwife led unit. Talking to a consultant will really help, I found it beneficial to write my questions down as I generally forget to ask certain things when speaking to doctors haha!

Sorry for the massive essay but I feel really strongly about this subject and hate that it's such a taboo topic so can be quite isolating. The main thing to focus on is that baby is safely tucked away in a protective sack, antivirals are safe for use in pregnancy and that the fact you have had it for so long and aware you have it means there is very little to no risk of transmission during birth, even less so if you take suppressive therapy in the run up!

Feel free to PM me if you're ever worried or concerned as speaking to others about this really helps and I know this forum really helped me in the first few months. Just try and relax and remove as much stress as possible take care!

Sorry just realised how old this post was, hope it all went well for you

@Luli1

Hi Moms, please help. Iam pregnant 33 weeks my 2nd pregnancy and just been diagnosed with herpes. I dont know where i got it i have been with my partner for 7 years now. He had sexual relations before that and they are saying he could be a carrier without symptoms ? Is that right? And why now is it transmitted to me? Qny one knows? They gave me Aciclovir 3 times a day for now but iam very sad ans devistated and depressed? Plz tell me what to do now and what about giving birth? Iam thinking to insist on c section. Plz advise

Many people can be a carrier and pass it on without knowing they have it (more commonly men as they have fewer outbreaks compared to women), you may have picked up the virus when you first were with him but because of your lowered immune system during pregnancy you're only now having your first outbreak. The acyclovir 3 times a day should be more than enough to prevent any more outbreaks during your pregnancy, also look up lysine rich foods to focus your diet on and avoid foods high in arginine as that has been known to really reduce outbreaks. The risk is having an outbreak at the time of birth so if you feel one coming in the next few weeks (nerve pain, tingling etc) you can probably request to have a c section, but if you're not having an outbreak you should be fine to deliver naturally. Good luck!