Should pregnant women be excluded from settings such as schools during mumps outbreaks?
A. There are currently no recommendations for excluding women from such settings for the following reasons: (1) If mumps outbreaks are ongoing in the community then excluding women from a setting such as a school or university may not reduce her risk of contracting mumps (2) Most pregnant women will be immune to mumps (3) The evidence that mumps causes problems in pregnancy is weak, and the evidence that exclusion of women is an effective intervention is also weak. However, there may be specific circumstances that make the risk to a pregnancy of contracting mumps higher for particular individuals.
A. There are currently no recommendations for excluding women from such settings for the following reasons: (1) If mumps outbreaks are ongoing in the community then excluding women from a setting such as a school or university may not reduce her risk of contracting mumps (2) Most pregnant women will be immune to mumps (3) The evidence that mumps causes problems in pregnancy is weak, and the evidence that exclusion of women is an effective intervention is also weak. However, there may be specific circumstances that make the risk to a pregnancy of contracting mumps higher for particular individuals.
