Im pregnant, and I have genital herpes. What should I do?
A. Women with longstanding recurrent genital herpes are at low risk for transmitting the virus to their babies. To be safe however, a cesarean section often is done if a woman with recurrent herpes has an outbreak when she goes into labor. (A cesarean section delivers the baby by surgery, so the infant does not pass through the vagina.) Any pregnant woman with genital herpes, or whose partner has either genital or oral herpes, should inform the doctor or other clinician providing care for the pregnancy. Many obstetricians now prescribe acyclovir to pregnant women with herpes during the last month before delivery. This helps prevent outbreaks, and therefore can prevent an otherwise unnecessary cesarean section.
