My girlfriend & I were talking about herpes and pregnancy. Is it safe to take suppressive therapy while preg?
Whether or not you have a c-section depends on if you have an active outbreak during delivery. I’ve never been on supressive therapy because I very rarely have outbreaks so I’m not sure about that, but I’ve had two vaginal deliveries so far and this will hopefully be my third. This link has info on the pros and cons of c-section vs. vaginal deliveries when infected as well as info on supressive therapy during pregnancy.
Yes, you CAN have a vaginal delivery if you do not have an outbreak at the time of the birth. In a study conducted in the UK, all cases of neonatal herpes were in babies born to mothers who caught herpes for the first time in the last three months of pregnancy – no babies whose mothers had the virus prior to pregnancy caught it at all. My sister, like me, has genital herpes, and she has had three healthy babies by vaginal delivery with no issues at all. Yes, it is safe to take suppressive therapy while pregnant. Whether it is given depends on the medical policy in the country you live in. I live in the UK, where it was concluded that it wasn’t worth giving suppressive therapy to all pregnant women with herpes. However, in the US it is standard policy to recommend suppressive therapy for the last four weeks of the pregnancy – this reduces the risk that you will be having an outbreak at the birth.
