While herpes and egg donation is not that much of a threatening combination, having a herpes simplex virus (HSV) during pregnancy (including surrogacy pregnancy) needs more attention and cautiousness.
When a pregnant female has genital herpes that is active during the delivery, the infection may be transmitted to a baby through the birth canal. When a baby is born with HSV, we would say that he/she has neonatal herpes. This condition is rare, but may result in serious and even fatal consequences for a baby.
When a female has chronic herpes simplex virus before pregnancy, the risk of transmitting it to the baby becomes minimal. First of all, situation is always easier to control when parents are aware of the condition in advance and accordingly, act as specified by their healthcare provider.
Immune system produces antibodies – proteins that fight viruses and bacterias. During pregnancy, antibodies protect baby too by transporting themselves to the baby via placenta. Virus may not be latent during the delivery and even if it is active in the birth canal, antibodies will fight for protecting the baby during the labour.
To further avoid complications and diminish the risks even more, it is recommended that mother controls the activeness of herpes regularly, especially before the labour. When HSV is active, despite the presence of antibodies, the safest action is to have a c-section.
Parents should still consider being attentive after the delivery and watch baby for the symptoms of HSV.
Risk of neonatal herpes increases significantly when a pregnant female gets infected during the pregnancy. The situation may get more serious, if the contraction with genital herpes occurs on the later stages of gestation. As opposed to the females who already have antibodies, newly infected mother does not have any of them. Their immune systems are not yet capable to fight the HSV.
When a woman gets infected on the last stage of pregnancy, delivering through a c-section will be the most sensible choice. With the help of medications, vaginal delivery may be possible if the virus is controlled and is obtained on the early stage of gestation.
While it is crucial to check on the infection regularly, it is even more important to consider and avoid the risk factors. If a sexual partner of a pregnant female has HSV it is recommended to have a protected intercourse when the infection is latent. During active period as well as last trimester, it is important to avoid having an itercourse.
For the sake of security, it is also recommended to have a partner tested on herpes. The symptoms might not be present and it is always a good idea to double check anything suspicious during the pregnancy.
Before starting a surrogacy program, agencies should examine candidates on herpes and consider admitting only the healthy women. Additionally, surrogate mothers should be regularly checked on herpes during pregnancy too. Frequent checkups, of course, do not give a 100% guarantee that surrogate will not get infected. Agencies and parents should take into consideration that herpes may cause miscarriage and it is important to periodically check surrogate on various infections.
Doctors will usually check the condition and activeness of herpes virus before the labour. In order to decrease risks of infecting a baby to minimum, doctors will advice to do a cesarean section when the virus is active in the birth canal.
Another tendency , that is becoming increasingly popular is to use the medication called acyclovir. While the medicine is not fully recommended during the pregnancy, according to the experience of hundreds of pregnant females as well as surrogacy agencies, acyclovir has not caused any kind of increased risks to a baby. Contrariwise, the medicine has prevented the outbreaks on the last stage of pregnancy. Normally, acyclovir is prescribed during the last month of gestation and decreases the need of c-section.
According to the state of herpes, period when it was identified or last active as well as course of the pregnancy, surrogacy agencies in cooperation with doctors, will decide whether it is reasonable to use acyclovir as a part of the treatment.
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