What happens if a woman is pregnant and has herpes?
Most women who have herpes needn’t worry. Rarely does a woman with recurrent herpes pass the infection on to her newborn. The greatest danger for the fetus is during delivery if a woman is having her first episode. In some of these cases, contact with herpes sores can lead to severe damage of the nervous system or death. If herpes sores are present when a woman begins labor, a caesarean section can be done to avoid infecting the newborn. Very rarely is a fetus infected earlier in pregnancy.
