Children after diagnosis

Are there any women out here that have had children after being diagnosed with HSV2? Was your partner positive as well? Any and all information would be greatly appreciated!

I contracted HSV-2 after my kids, but I have a friend who had her baby after her diagnosis. She also had a successful vaginal delivery. What the doctors do is monitor you closely, put you on antivirals for the entire pregnancy. If you have an outbreak during labor they push for a csection.

@cier You might find it comforting to know that in a very large study in The U.S. (more than 8500 pregnant women were tested), 30% of them tested positive for HSV2 prior to labor. Even so, neonatal herpes is a rare complication (1/5500). Most pregnant women with HSV2 don't know they're infected, but those who do know can choose to take antivirals toward the end of pregnancy to reduce risk further. The greatest danger (by far) is when a woman contracts GHSV1 or HSV2 within a few months of labor without having enough time to build sufficient antibodies before labor. In such cases, risk of neonatal herpes increases to somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2.

Are antivirals safe for the baby? I take them now, but I didn't think you were able to continue use if you became pregnant.

@cier As far as I know, many doctors recommend antivirals during late pregnancy for women who know the have genital herpes, or at least women who get recurring outbreaks. The goal is to avoid having an outbreak that coincides with labor. I don't know if there is a more general recommendation about safety of antivirals throughout pregnancy.

Yes anti vitals are recommended in the last trimester to protect the baby and allow for a vsginal birth .

I was diagnosed in March of 2016 and became pregnant in August of that same year. I was started on antivirals 3 months before my due date (May 18), because I was having an outbreak. My baby came early, however (April 21), after being back on them for less than a week (lack of transportation, wasn't able to get prescription). She is my first child, so to say I was concerned about having HSV-2 would be an understatement. I also was only in labor for around 3 1/2 hours. I arrived at 9 pm, already in labor (water broke). 30 minutes later I was being raced up to a delivery room. There was zero time to actually check and see if I was having an active outbreak. My daughter is 2 months old and completely healthy. I'm still concerned though (I fear auto-inoculation).

As for my partner, I can't answer this. He swears up and down he does not have HSV-2, but he's never been tested for it. He says he's been tested before, but HSV isn't routine STD testing like he thinks it is. Not worth the fight on that one.