effect of genital herpes on pregnancy
Last reviewed 01/2018
Most women with a history of genital herpes will have normal pregnancies and healthy babies.
However the following associations exist:
- spontaneous abortion - there is a higher early abortion rate, especially if the disease is primary
- still birth
- low birth weight
- premature delivery - when an attack occurs in the last trimester
- primary infection in the first trimester is teratogenic. The risk is minor however and not an indication for therapeutic abortion.
- if herpes is present at the cervix, then there is a risk of the baby becoming infected during birth - 50% of babies born to infected mothers are infected