Genital Herpes And Pregnancy:
This is by far one of my favorite topics. Not because I think herpes and pregnancy is a great mix (they’re not), but because there is so much fear and misinformation out there it’s nice to be able to have positive, valuable and accurate information. Stop the insanity!
I cannot tell you how many e-mails I receive or comments I read where women just diagnosed with vaginal herpes whose partners are negative, are told by their Doctors that it will be impossible to have unprotected sex (and thus incur the cost and stress of invitro fertilization treatments), and that there is a 100% chance of a scheduled C-section to protect the baby. And I am here right now to say that is absolutely NOT TRUE. Yes, you have to be careful when trying to get pregnant not to infect your partner and risk herpes transmission, but this should be something you are practicing 24/7, 365 days a year.
All I can do is share with you my herpes pregnancy story which starts with my husband and I tapering off using condoms about two years into our relationship. We had become relaxed enough to know that we were going to be together for (hopefully) a very long time, that I had my herpes symptoms under control, and that more importantly, I had an awesome grasp of what my early symptoms of herpes felt like and would abstain from all sexual contact until the either the symptoms disappeared, or the herpes outbreak had completely healed. This led us to the decision that stopping the use of condoms was a calculated risk that we were going to take because they were really starting to be a hassle and my husband felt confident that he would either not get the virus or that if he did, he would be able to live with it. I am happy to say that almost 10 years later he is still completely herpes free.
From that decision came my first planned pregnancy and all went well. I informed my OB who was more than familiar with female genital herpes and he was happy to provide me with a four week prescription to Valtrex which I started a few weeks before my due date. I was free of any signs of herpes when I went into labor and was able to have a happy healthy vaginal delivery. There was never any talk of a C-section or suggestion that I was somehow putting my baby at risk.
My second child was conceived 24 months later and was also born happy and healthy by vaginal delivery. I did have a prescription for Valtrex but he was born three weeks early and I had not had a chance to fill my prescription yet.
Please don’t misunderstand. I am not in any way trying to minimize the dangers of genital herpes and newborns, but I am desperately trying to reassure you that with knowledge, research and a competent OB, it is more than possible for women with HSV2 to have babies the plain old straight up old fashioned way.
I don’t want to get into a huge debate here over C-sections vs. natural deliveries but it is my firm belief that vaginal deliveries offer both the baby and the mother far more benefits in the short and long term that science has not even begun to understand. Hormonally, emotionally, some freaky shit about coming through the birth canal – this was all designed (by God, the Universe, Allah…) for a reason and I am going to respect it. I am so grateful for technology and the life saving techniques that have been made available to save the lives of women and children in pregnancy but I for one am 100% confident that the minimal risk of herpes infection from mother to baby is so much more worth taking than a schedule C-section, “just to be safe”.
There of course many special circumstances including mothers contracting HSV2 in the third trimester, active herpes outbreaks at the time of delivery, and other complications that you need to discuss with your OB. You won’t find any judgment here whatever your decision.
Now go get pregnant!
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This is a wonderful story! I hope to get my outbreaks under control and then I’ll get pregnant!
@TM: Thanks for your comment. If you are really trying to get pregnant and are suffering from constant herpes outbreaks, you can consider Valtrex for a few months. I actually found that when I was pregnant I didn’t have outbreaks (strange but true – probably something to do with advanced immunity). Then you can also consider Valtrex for the four weeks before you give birth to ensure you can have a vaginal delivery (if this is what you want). Good luck!