Another important issue to be considered is the transmission of the herpes virus from mother to child. Herpes can be transmitted to the fetus (particularly if the mother becomes infected while she is pregnant), the newborn during delivery (if the mother has virus present in the genital area at the time of delivery), and the infant (if he or she is kissed by someone who has a cold sore). About 5 percent of infants who are infected with HSV are infected while in the womb, 85 percent are infected by passing through an infected birth canal at delivery, and about 10 percent are infected after birth. Women with a history of herpes have a low risk of transmitting the virus to their newborn infants. The greatest risk of transmitting the virus to the newborn is posed by a mother who becomes infected during the pregnancy. In the United States, about 1 in 4000 live newborn infants is infected with herpes (called neonatal herpes). Between 20 and 30 percent of neonatal herpes cases are caused by type 1 herpes simplex, and between 70 and 80 percent by type 2 herpes. Infants infected with herpes at birth have symptoms ranging from mild skin, eye, and mouth infections to disseminated infection with permanent neurological symptoms to death. Children who do survive are at risk for developmental delay, even if they had only mild symptoms at birth. Prompt treatment of the infant with herpes medications can help subdue the symptoms, but the medications may not work as well in advanced cases.

On a more positive note, remember that millions of women with herpes have normal, healthy babies every year, and that generally herpes is a problem in pregnancy only when there is a lack of understanding about how herpes can be transmitted during pregnancy, or if the parents are not aware of their herpes status. If you and your partner, as well as your obstetrician or nurse midwife, know your herpes status, and if your obstetrician or nurse midwife is well informed about herpes and pregnancy, then precautions can usually be taken to prevent transmission to the child.

*273\213\8*