Herpes and Pregnancy are problematic women and babies, but not an insurmountable issue. Herpes and other STD's are infections that result from any kind of sexual contact, even kissing.   Basically, vaginal, oral or anal sex can put you or your partner at risk for contracting or transmitting such disease.  It can even be transmitted via infected needles, to your child by breastfeeding, or during childbirth.   Even a child in the womb may be be at risk, though such risk is thought to be remote.

Genital Herpes and Pregnancy

A pregnant woman is just as subject to contracting an STD as any other person.   If you are pregnant and have an STD, you are putting your child at risk.  Thus, you must take every precaution to avoid contracting a disease like genital herpes either before or during pregnancy.  Be sure that your partner is free of STD's, and it is good practice to use condoms during pregnancy as an extra precaution, and particularly if you have multiple partners. In addition to genital herpes, a variety of other STD's can be problematic during pregnancy.   These may include:

• Bacterial Vaginosis,
• Gonorrhea,
• Trichomoniasis,
• Hepasign of herpestitis B,
• Syphilis,
• HIV
• Chlamydia

Bacterial vaginosis is very common in pregnant women and symptoms include pain during urination, a fishy smelling vaginal discharge  and itching.  Trichomoniasis can be contracted via toilet seats or damp cloths that may come in contact with the vaginal area. Among U.S. women, the most common STD infections during pregnancy are female genital herpes and bacterial vaginosis.  When symptoms for genital herpes are evident, they include blister type sores in the vaginal area, pain, fever, headache, itching, burning or swelling of the genitalia. However, STD infections like genital herpes and HPV can be present silently without evident symptoms, and the victim may be unaware of the disease until serious complications arise.   STD's are known to cause cervical cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility.   Such diseases may cause early labor and possible uterine infections. STD's and genital herpes can be transmitted to the baby during childbirth, and possible while the baby is in the womb.  Such infections can result in brain damage, eye infections, deafness or blindness in the infant.   They may be evident at birth, in not appear until later months and years. Therefore, it is critical that a pregnant woman take all precautions to avoid contracting STD's before or during pregnancy.   If you are so unfortunate as to have had such a disease before or during pregnancy, it is imperative that you make your physician completely aware of your conditions so that appropriate precautions can be taken to protect you and the child. How can STDs affect Pregnancy - STDs and Pregnancy - Genital Certain other sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea, Chlamydia, hepatitis B, and genital herpes get transmitted to the child during the process of delivery. Managing Genital Herpes Infections in Pregnancy Managing Genital Herpes Infections in Pregnancy CME. Disclosures Release Date: February 25, 2009; Valid for credit through February 25, 2010. Guidelines on Herpes in Pregnancy HSV-1 tends to be the cause of oral herpes (”cold sores” or “fever blisters”) and HSV-2 tends to be the cause of genital herpes, although either virus can affect the oral or genital areas. Herpes in pregnancy is of concern. How does herpes affect pregnancy? Fortunately, neonatal herpes is rare. The highest risk occurs when the mother first catches genital herpes during the last 3 months of pregnancy. Therefore, the main way to prevent neonatal herpes is for pregnant women without genital is to avoid sex. Getting Pregnant With Genital Herpes Pregnancy and genital herpes? Interactions, complications and effects on the baby. Check out dangers of genital herpes during pregnancy.