Slapped cheek in pregnancy

[CancelledCheque]

I’m currently 14 weeks pregnant, and my DS came out in a classic slapped cheek rash 3 days ago. As soon as I saw it I realised that that was probably the cause of the unusual illness I had had in the fortnight prior. I felt like I had the flu; spent most of the week in bed utterly exhausted; had an itchy red rash on my arms and legs (plus a little on my face); and had sore knees, elbows and wrists. I am still tiring easily, sometimes I am very itchy and I’m having to go to bed early.

I contacted maternity triage for advice and they asked me to request blood testing for parvovirus/slapped cheek from my GP. This was done on Monday and I’m now waiting on my results. The nurse at the practice wasn’t sure how long they would take but advised me to chase them after a week. I’m absolutely positive that I have been infected. I’ve looked up the guidelines and I’m aware that infection in my current stage of pregnancy puts my miscarriage risk up to 10-15%, with a smaller risk of the baby developing hydrops. I am mostly ok and able to focus on the fact that the chances of everything being ok are 85-90%, but I can’t help feeling upset at the prospect of losing this baby in my second trimester, and maybe having to tell my kids (and everyone else) the bad news.

I guess I’m just looking for anyone who has gone through similar, and maybe a hand hold while I’m in limbo. Even if my blood results come back negative, I have been told I will need them repeated in a couple of weeks as it can sometimes take time for the antibodies to appear.

Hi @CancelledCheque hope you get some good news soon!
Just to let you know Im in exactly thw same position this week. 13 weeks pregnant. My two boys both have had it with very few symptoms but the rash.
I've felt awful the past 3 days-now have a bad cough and terrible headaches so going to call the GP in the morning (also had bloods on Monday I am waiting on!)

I've read some positive stories on here but feel a bit more anxious as I feel so ill with it :(

Wishing you luck and fingers crossed for both of us!

Keeping my fingers crossed for you that it'll all be OK.
DS had slapped cheek about two weeks ago. I was already 24 weeks by then and I've had blood tests right at the start of pregnancy (due to me being a primary school teacher, my gynaecologist got those done straight away). I had tested positive for antibodies so didn't stress too much about it.
It's quite likely that you've had it as a child and would therefore be immune.

Thank you: I hope all is well for you. When I called maternity triage for advice they told me that if first blood test was negative, I would have to get a second one in a few weeks so I’m bracing myself for the possibility of a longer wait before I know for sure what’s going on. I hope you are feeling a lot better v soon.

That’s great you have had the reassurance of being immune. My bloods should show if I have had it before. If this happens to be a similar virus but not slapped cheek, it would be quite the relief.

Update: still waiting on my results and they won’t be available until Thursday as the labs are busy. A GP at my practice told me that they have seen a lot of slapped cheek recently, so it looks like it’s epidemic here at the moment. My youngest daughter also came out in the red rash on her cheeks, so even if my first blood test happens to be negative, I have had ongoing exposure since.

I mentioned to the nursery that my daughter had come out in the rash in case they needed to be aware, and one of the nursery staff told me that her baby was badly affected by the virus in her pregnancy and had to have an in utero transfusion. I know that’s the risk that extra scans are looking for, but it just makes the possibility a bit more real and I can’t help getting a bit upset from time to time. Not to mention that the wait is excruciating.

I completely understand-this must be so worrying for you :( and I felt exactly the same last week!
I got my results on Friday in the end (so 5 days) - I had IgG and no IgM antibodies so it looks like thankfully I must have had exposure but not very recently. Both my boys definitely had had it last week. My GP also said its everywhere at the moment. My nephew 4 hours up country also got it the same week!
I was so ill last week (and still recovering) so god knows what other awful virus I had.... And then I also got a severe stomach bug/suspected food poisoning over the weekend which I'm also recovering from.
Feels like all these bugs are out to get us!
I really hope you get your bloods through soon so they can sort out next steps (or hopefully find you have immunity too!)

Oh I’m glad you got that reassuring result! I have had constant bugs since the beginning of the year and I have barely had a day of feeling well for my entire pregnancy so far, so I can very much sympathise.

Hi @CancelledCheque can I join you in waiting for results? I'm a reception teacher with an outbreak in my class/year group. I asked my midwife about it last Tuesday and she just said 'avoid it as much as possible' so I pushed my GP for a blood test which I had last Thursday. Still waiting on results but had a sore throat this week so really scared that I have got it and baby will be affected. I'm 12 weeks today so right in the danger zone 😩

The positive is that the percentage of woman who get it and pass it on with complications is low but it's obviously not 0. I've not been in work since Monday as cases kept increasing and I didn't feel comfortable taking the risk but am beating myself up for going in last week and exposing myself/putting my pregnancy at risk.

Further update: my blood test came back positive for IgM, which means that I have had a recent slapped cheek infection. It’s not unexpected but a bit disappointing and worrying. I have a scan booked for tomorrow afternoon and will have them every fortnight for a few months.

Oh I’m sorry; it seems very difficult to avoid as everyone is infectious for some time before they develop symptoms. I hope your test shows you are immune: that would be an ideal outcome. I’m thinking of you.

@CancelledCheque sorry to hear that you've tested positive- I hope all goes well at your scan tomorrow.

So sorry to hear your news on the blood test-I have my fingers and toes crossed for you that it doesnt pass to your baby and that your scans go well xxx

@CancelledCheque how did your scan go? Luckily I've tested positive for igg antibodies and not igm so have managed to escape it. Hope everything went well for you today x

Hi, @CancelledCheque I have just seen this thread and am too in the same position as you. I’m 6 weeks pregnant and have tested positive. I hope your scan went well today, would be good to keep in touch with someone going through similar to me

Unfortunately I had a call from the scanning department yesterday telling me that they had made a mistake and given me an appointment that didn’t exist! I now have to wait until Wednesday for my scan, which is another disappointment, and a bit more time to worry whether the baby is ok or not.

Sorry, to everyone going through this but just wanted to thank you for highlighting the issue because I thought I was going mad. My son came home with what was clearly slapped cheek last week. Im nearly 19 weeks PG. We kept him off all week and I started to develop symptoms- I now have an awful cough, itching all over and generally feeling unwell. I called my GP on Weds and he mentioned nothing about any blood tests, just said to take honey with my tea! I feel totally fobbed off and like an idiot.

Oh thats so annoying about the scan! They should have found a way to give you a scan anyway-its not fair given they know you'll be worried already :( Hope all goes well on Weds

@quinceandcheddar definitely push for the test. I had the same at first with this and with my stomach bug. I think sometimes they are so focused on you they forget about pregnancy risks. Especially with the stomach bug-I had to keep explaining it could be dangerous for the baby! One person said 'well you can't feel baby movements yet so theres no way of knowing if its impacted them' (really??). Took a few days of calls and speaking to the midwife and in the end got tests and a scan. Fingers crossed all ok but was annoying to have to keep pushing for it

I had parvo virus during my first pregnancy, DD is 20 now.
I didn't know I'd had contact with slapped cheek until I lost a few drops of blood at 17 weeks pregnant, tests then showed the infection.
I had a mini bleed about every 2 months after that, which they couldn't say whether it was related or not. I was scanned either every month or two months, as the main concern was whether growth would continue. I was anaemic, but I've had that at various times in my life. I was induced at 37 weeks pregnant, as the growth scans had shown not much change in her weight between 35 and 37 weeks, so they figured better out than in at that point. She was born weighing 6 lb 3.5, absolutely healthy, kept in a day to check her over but nothing to report.

You are definitely not an idiot! The GP may be unfamiliar with slapped cheek and the issues in pregnancy. If you can’t get anywhere with him, please contact your pregnancy unit and speak to a midwife who will be able to check their protocols and get the ball rolling for you. The itching is something I experienced for sure. Piriton and other antihistamines should be safe to take in pregnancy and helped me sleep.
I hope you get some answers soon. X

If anyone is interested in an update, I finally had my scan today. I was so nervous that there might not be a heartbeat and it didn’t help that I had to wait for nearly an hour after my appointment time to be seen. But thankfully baby has a good heartbeat and was extremely active. The consultant took a long time trying to get a specific measurement of the blood flow in one of the vessels in baby’s brain, but it was just too active and not in the best position. She told me that there are no other signs of anaemia that she could see and she will try to get the blood flow measurement done at my next scan.

Since I caught the virus at the most risky point of my pregnancy, I will be getting weekly scans for the next 8 weeks. So, I’m feeling more positive than I have been for the past week. I know there are still risks and things could go wrong, but so far so good.

Brilliant news! That sounds really positive :)

So pleased to hear your update! I'm sorry you'll have to have extra checks but hopefully they will give you additional reassurance

That’s great news @CancelledCheque, really pleased to hear that. What is the most risky period to catch the virus? I have been referred to fetal medicine but not sure when I will have my first appointment as I’m not even 6 weeks yet so nothing they could see at this stage I assume

Hi there, I had symptoms beginning around the 12-13 week mark. All the studies and guidelines I have read say that getting infected between 9 weeks and 20 weeks is the window of greatest risk. My scans will be looking for signs of severe anaemia or heart failure in the baby over the next couple of months, which can take some time to develop, so they will check for fluid around baby’s heart and abdomen, and check the blood flow in the brain.

At 6 weeks they can probably only check for a heartbeat to exclude miscarriage, but they might well offer you more detailed scans later. You are thankfully at much lower risk than I am, but fetal medicine will have more definite answers for you when you see them. I hope all goes well for you.