Pregnancy and genital herpes – yes you can!

October 5, 2005. One of the many fallacies surrounding genital herpes is that women cannot or should not become pregnant.
According to Dr Joe Sasaduesz, Australian Herpes Management Forum spokesman and board member, there is no reason why women who have genital herpes cannot conceive and go on to give birth successfully.

About 25% of pregnant women in the US have genital herpes. In Australia, the incidence is around 14 per cent.

“The risk of passing the infection onto a newborn baby is low, particularly if the genital herpes was contracted before the mother became pregnant or during the early stages of pregnancy,” he said. “However, if a newborn contracts the virus at birth (neonatal herpes), untreated infection can progress to serious complications. Without treatment, neonatal herpes is fatal in at least half of cases and up to two-thirds of survivors have lifelong disabilities.”

Babies are most at risk from neonatal herpes if the mother contracts genital HSV infection in the final trimester of pregnancy. This is because a newly infected mother has not yet produced sufficient antibodies against the virus and so there is little natural protection for the baby before and during birth.

In addition, newly acquired genital HSV infection is frequently active and so it is more likely the virus will be present in the birth canal during delivery. Even in cases where HSV infection is acquired during the late stages of pregnancy, medical staff can take steps to protect the baby, such as recommending a Caesarean delivery and/or prescribing antiviral medication.

All women with genital herpes who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should talk to their family doctor, obstetrician or midwife,” said Dr Sasaduesz.

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