If you are pregnant and have herpes, you may be very concerned about passing the herpes simplex virus on to your unborn child. However, before you worry too much about this, realize that neonatal herpes is a very rare occurrence. There is no hard data on how many children are born with herpes each year, but it is an estimate approximately 4000 children are, out of more than four million births each year. To put a number on this, you have to consider that approximately 25 million women in the United States have herpes. There is a less than 0.1 percent chance that your child will have herpes.
The Risks Examined
The higher risk for giving your child herpes occurs when you are having an active outbreak during the birthing process. However, doctors now have a great deal of information and resources available to them to help them to avoid this contraction of the herpes virus to the child. If you have an active herpes outbreak during birth, your doctor is likely to do a cesarean section instead of allowing you to deliver vaginally. However, most women who do not have an active outbreak at the time of delivery can delivery vaginally without a problem and without giving the herpes simplex virus to their child.
When a Child Gets Herpes
Why is it necessary for someone to take such precautions concerning the birth of a child during an active outbreak? If you have herpes and you are pregnant, it is critical that you inform your doctor of the situation as soon as possible. Neonatal herpes, as people call it, can have tragic results. About half of those children who receive treatment with antiviral medications that contract herpes will be fine, without any permanent damage. However, other children may have serious neurological damage, may have mental retardation or may even die from the infection. It is because of these tragic occurrences that it is quite important to allow your doctor to take steps to prevent your child from contracting the herpes simplex virus.
The most common way that a child will develop neonatal herpes is when the child encounters the HSV 1 or HSV 2 virus in the birthing canal during delivery. This usually only occurs when there is an active outbreak occurring. The viral shedding during an outbreak is very high.
However, if you have had herpes for a long time, your body has developed antibodies to fight off the infection outbreaks. Luckily, your baby will be born with these antibodies too, for a limited time. Those with long-standing herpes infections will have this natural level of protection against the virus during birth and even later. Even if you contract herpes during the first trimester of your pregnancy, your body should have enough time to develop these antibodies to protect your baby. This is why it is so rare for babies to be born with herpes. Nevertheless, inform your doctor. Ensure he or she knows the risks your child is facing.