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Herpes Pregnancy or STD Pregnancy
Honestly,
I don't know why it's taken me so long to put together an information
page about herpes and pregnancy. I should have done this a long time
ago. The thing that makes my page unique and different from all the rest
is the fact that I actually have herpes whereas most information pages
are put together by doctors and people that can't really tell you first
hand what it's like to be pregnant and have herpes at the same time.
I have three girls. Lauren will be 16 years old in
October. Fiona will turn 4 in December. Miss Kinsley will be 2 years old
in November.
All three are beautiful healthy girls. Now the oldest was born at a time
that I did not have herpes. I had her when I was 21 years old. I am now
37 years old. I didn't contract herpes until I was 25 years old. The two
younger girls I gave birth to many years after having contracted the
herpes virus. Just wanted to clarify that if you are reading this for
the first time and don't really know me personally.
When I first started reading about
herpes I didn't think it would be possible to have a normal vaginal
delivery and I was one of those that was dead set against them. I
thought a lot about how I would never subject my baby to herpes and
couldn't understand why all women with herpes didn't just opt for a
c-section. It wasn't until later that I realized that a c-section was
totally unnecessary. And for those that didn't know this - it is
possible to pass herpes to your unborn baby even if you do decide to
have a c-section. At least that is what a friend of mine told me
recently. It's pretty rare but possible. So a c-section is not all that
it's cut out to be. It's also major surgery and takes days of recovery
time.
Did you know that not all pregnant
women and their partners are screened for the herpes virus? This is so
important for people to know because what if the pregnant Mom doesn't
have herpes and her partner unknowingly does? The last thing a pregnant
Mom wants to have happen is to contract the virus for the 1st time while
she is pregnant. That is why people need to know their status as a sort
of pregnancy pre-screen. That way if you are pregnant and don't have
herpes but you find out your partner does, then you can avoid having sex
during the last trimester of your pregnancy so as not to contract the
virus for the 1st time. So make sure when you go to see your OBGYN about
your pregnancy and they start prescreening you for things to be sure and
include proper STD testing too. It's better to be safe and know your
status than not to. Try and see if they will test your partner for STDS
as well.
It's the Mom's that contract the
virus for the 1st time during their pregnancy and their doctors don't
know.. that have the hardest time with neonatal herpes. Believe it or
not, neonatal herpes can be a huge problem for a baby. You can tell when
your newborn has it because he or she will be extremely sick and will
have to stay in intensive care for babies when they are born.
The Mom's that already have the virus
and know it prior to becoming pregnant don't have to worry about
neonatal herpes as much because they already have antibodies that they
are sharing with their unborn child. If you decide to breastfeed your
newborn you will continue to share those antibodies even after you give
birth. Plus, the Mom's that are aware of their herpes status during
pregnancy can opt to go on suppressive therapy during the last six weeks
of their pregnancy to avoid possible herpes outbreaks during labor and
delivery. That's pretty much what I did when I was pregnant with both
little girls.
Well, that's all I have so far... I
do discuss this a little more over on my
herpes biography if you'd like to check that out. Also, some very
nice women have opted to send me their herpes pregnancy stories over on
my
true stories pages.. so be sure and check that out when you have
some time, ok? I post new pregnancy stories all the time.
Lastly, I am going to put together a
Herpes Simplex and Pregnancy information post over on our
STD Message Board. It's going to be strictly for educational
purposes and full credit goes to the American Social Health Association
also known as the Herpes Resource Center. It's the same information that
you will find on their Herpes Pregnancy Brochures that go out to area
doctors offices all over the country. If you would like me to send one
to you I'd be happy to because they are just sitting here in my home
office collecting dust. Just send me your mailing address and I'll pop
one in the mail for you today!
If you decide to share your
pregnancy story with me please consider sending me a picture of you
pregnant. I think to be a woman and to be pregnant is a beautiful thing! Babies are absolute miracles and I think we should all (as women) be
proud to show that part of life, don't you?
Ok, so I'm supposed to lead by
example, right? Well, now you can see a picture of what I looked like
with my last baby. Incidentally, she was 10lbs and 3oz when she was
born. (The little cutie pie) She didn't want to come out and I was a day
over due. So, I had to be induced. The funny thing is I have no idea
where her size comes from because my second child was 7lbs 7oz and my
first child was 8lbs 7oz. Ironically, I was diagnosed with
Hypothyroidism... but I'll save THAT story for another day.
Here is that
Herpes Simplex and Pregnancy information post that I was telling you
about. I hope that you find it to be as helpful as I did. I have a bunch
of Herpes and Pregnancy brochures sitting here in my home office if
you'd like me to send you one. All you have to do is find me over on the
message board and post your request there. I'll try and check the board
as often as I can. If you don't hear from me you can always check with a
site admin. Especially Gayla, she will know how to get a hold of me and
even has my telephone number directly.
Don't forget to send me all of your
herpes and pregnancy stories. Don't be afraid to include your photo. If
you do decide to include your photo, please make sure that it's a family
friendly one and that it's in jpg format. I am able to resize it if it's
too big so you won't need to worry about that.
Want to join the discussion? Check out our
Shut Up n' Post
pregnancy
forum
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