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Herpes/Pregnancy...seeking advice/tips


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Recently my SO and I decided that we want to start a family. I was diagnosed about 7 months ago with ghsv and am coming to terms with my diagnosis and am on the suppressive therapy and have only had clitoral swelling and slight itching since my first OB, but have had no lesions or open sores that I am aware of.

My biggest thing with starting a family was finding a doctor who I feel comfortable with so a friend of mine who has HPV referred me to a great doctor that I met with and made me feel very comfortable especially knowing that she sees patients with diagnosis similar to mine. Thus getting us to the point where we felt comfortable enough to start a family. I worry about passing this along to my child. I have read up on the risks and understand they are very low etc.

 

I am seeking any advice or tips on how best to handle things such as a day to day care for the child etc. I understand good hygiene and good hand washing etc. but if anyone has any advice I would appreciate it. I spoke with my doctor about keeping on the suppressive therapy throughout the pregnancy and she said that it should be safe, but that is something that will be decided when we conceive. I am worried that I will have frequent ob's (more than 1 every 2 months) etc. so any advice on how best to control them if I decide not to continue the suppressive therapy would be appreciated. If there is anything I forgot to mention that someone has advice on feel free to comment. Thank you

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The only time you are at risk for spreading it to your child is during a vaginal birth. They will do a thorough visual check the day you go into labor and if they see anything that is a concern, you will have a c section. I didn't take valtrex on a regular basis so a few weeks (3-4 maybe, it's been years since I've had a baby) before I was due, they had me start taking them. If you do decide to go off of the meds, I think I would do when you start trying, or you could wait until you are pregnant and then stop. As long as you take the meds before labor you are good. (And if by some chance you do have an outbreak the day of- you will still be good, you will just have a different kind of childbirth experience).

 

I've seen people talk about weaning themselves off rather than going cold turkey so that their immune system has a chance to adjust. You may want to keep that in mind also.

 

I have had three babies post H diagnoses. I never had an outbreak on the day I was going to deliver. I did start labor with the first two but other complications caused me to have c-sections. Once I had two, they didn't give me an option for a vaginal birth anymore. None of my girls were H positive. And to this day (14, 12, 10 now) I've never had a reason to think they will be. And I didn't treat them any different because of my diagnoses. (But then again, who plays with or wipes their genitals and then just touches a baby- that just a natural no in my book).

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@smalltown

 

Hello and Welcome!

 

I'm a 55 yr old Grandma who has had HSV1 oral since childhood and HSV2 genital since my first sexual experience. I have had 2 daughters - now ages 26 and 30. First was born by Cesarean simply because the Dr scared me into it (they convinced me to have a planned c-section without giving me a chance to go to labor and see what my status was). I got educated for my second, pitched a fit and got a new Dr, and had her naturally. I never treated them any differently than I would have without H. I had baths with them, shared towels (of course, not if I wiped my lady bits but I wouldn't have any way), kissed them plenty (just not with a cold sore present) and I now have a 5 yr old granddaughter who is also H-.

 

Nowadays the Dr's usually suggest you go on Valtrex for the last month and they will monitor you for lesions. If you are lesion free when you go into labor you should be fine. If not, you may be told that a Cesarean is your best bet for the child's safety.

 

Day to day - just use normal, common sense hygiene and your baby should have a happy, healthy, H- childhood!

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Thank you very much for advice. Pregnancy is hard enough and now dealing with this on top it scares me. I'm excited to be a mother and hope that my ob's stay few and far between but I understand the stress and hormone changes can trigger more. As I have only had my primary ob, I'm trying to stay proactive about any possible prodrome symptoms..

Is acyclovir safe to take throughout the pregnancy or if I take just one pill a day to maintain it? I currently take 2-400mg pills a day for treatment. I have read a few studies regarding pregnancy and acyclovir, but nothing is cut and dry so to speak. Having another ob is daunting but my baby's health is more important than a sore that will heal.

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