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Women with genital herpes can have healthy babies. With your doctor’s help, you can manage your herpes and give birth safely.
But you and your doctor need to be aware and careful. If you are shedding the herpes virus while you give birth, your baby may get herpes. This can hurt your baby very much.
During the last three months of pregnancy:
- Don’t have sex, if your partner has herpes and you don’t have it already.
- Don’t receive oral sex, if your partner has cold sores (“fever blisters”).
Your baby may get herpes, if you’re infected late in pregnancy. That’s because:
- You and your baby haven’t had time to build up a natural defense against the virus.
- The virus sheds a lot in the first six months that you’re infected.
- Herpes symptoms tend to last longer or get worse when you’re first infected.
If you plan to get pregnant:
If you know you have genital herpes, tell your doctor. He or she will want to create a treatment plan for your pregnancy.
When you go into labor, get checked for symptoms:
- If there aren’t any, you can usually give birth vaginally.
- If there are symptoms, you may need a C-section to reduce your baby’s risk of getting herpes.
Be sure to discuss your concerns with your doctor.
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