“Safety during Pregnancy: Dealing with Genital Herpes and the Risks to Your Baby”

Saskia (29) is together with Jarno (37) and is pregnant with their first child.

“Jarno and I were celebrating our one-year anniversary with a romantic weekend away, when I suddenly didn’t feel well at all upon arrival at the hotel. I felt flu-like, and thought I had a skin infection on my vulva. That made the romance hard to find that weekend; the next morning we sat at the local doctor’s office. Diagnosis: Genital Herpes. Probably contracted from Jarno, who – as I luckily already knew – had suffered from it once years earlier.

Soa

The fact that I had an STI that I would always carry with me was a bit of a shock to say the least, but nobody could help it. The doctor on duty said that it could stay with this one outbreak and that if it were to return more often, that too would weaken over the years. He was right: after that one time, which made me sick for two weeks, it never bothered me again and I usually forgot I had it.

Also read – ‘My husband didn’t know I had an STD’ >

Pregnancy

Until I got pregnant. Jarno and I couldn’t believe our luck, but less than a week after I had the positive test in my hands, the herpes broke through. I panicked and called the doctor. Such an outbreak regularly happens during pregnancies, she soothed. But it was a reason to stop by and talk about the consequences for the baby.

Implications? Not for a second did I think that my infection could be a problem. Almost everyone carries the virus, often in the form of a cold sore. Didn’t they usually have children without any problems?

“Some doctors then advise a caesarean section, others consider a vaginal delivery safe”

Herpes does indeed not have to cause problems for the baby, although in very rare cases it can lead to a miscarriage or abnormalities in the eyes, among other things. But if I have an outbreak during childbirth, I could infect our child. Some doctors then recommend a caesarean section, others tape the blisters and consider a vaginal delivery safe.

So the choice is now ours. With that, the carefreeness of my pregnancy is gone, with every itch or stimulation I think the virus will strike again. I know that I am by no means the only pregnant woman who carries this virus, what should I do?

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