5 Responses to “i have chicken pox when i was on my 3 or 4 months of pregnancy..could it harm my baby?”

1. Ny_attitude says:

   December 27, 2010 at 3:59 am

   I haven’t a clue as I have no experience with this but what did your doctor say?
2. babydoll694617192002 says:

   December 27, 2010 at 4:27 am

   What can happen to my baby if I get chicken pox while I’m pregnant?
   Chances are good that no harm will come to your baby, but timing is a factor.

   If you get chicken pox during the first half of pregnancy, there’s a slight risk that your baby will get something called congenital varicella syndrome. This condition is characterized by birth defects, including skin scarring, malformed limbs, an abnormally small head, vision or hearing problems, and motor or mental developmental disabilities. A baby with congenital varicella syndrome may also suffer poor growth in utero.

   If you do contract chicken pox, you’ll have a detailed ultrasound at 18 to 20 weeks to look for signs of defects or other problems and at least one follow-up sonogram later to see how your baby is doing. You may also choose to meet with a genetic counselor to discuss the risks in your particular case and decide how you want to proceed.

   If you get chicken pox in the second half of pregnancy but more than five days before giving birth, your baby will probably be fine. Here’s why: About five days after coming down with chicken pox, your body develops antibodies to the virus and passes them to your baby through the placenta, offering protection that his own immature immune system can’t provide.

   If you develop chicken pox five to 21 days before your baby is born, he might develop chicken pox days after birth, but because of the antibodies he received from you, it’s much less likely to be serious. (Some babies exposed to chicken pox in utero, particularly those exposed five to 21 days before birth, develop a case of shingles during infancy or early childhood without having had chicken pox after birth, but it’s usually not serious.)

   The most risky time to come down with chicken pox is between five days before giving birth and two days after delivery, because then your baby is exposed to the virus but doesn’t have had time to receive antibodies from you before birth. In this case, he has a 30 to 40 percent chance of developing what’s called neonatal varicella, or newborn chicken pox, which can be serious and even life threatening, especially if left untreated.

   Fortunately, your baby’s risk of a severe case can be greatly reduced if he gets a shot of varicella zoster immune globulin (VZIG), a blood product that contains chicken pox antibodies. He’ll be given the shot soon after birth if your chicken pox showed up within five days of delivery or as soon as you discover your rash if it’s within two days after delivery.

   If your baby shows any sign of developing the infection — such as coming down with a fever or showing a rash of even a few spots — he’ll be treated intravenously with the antiviral drug acyclovir.

   Editor’s note: As of March 2006, VZIG is no longer available in the United States. Practitioners now have access to a similar drug from Canada, called VariZIG
3. see_info says:

   December 27, 2010 at 5:13 am

   * If chicken pox occurs within the first trimester, the risk of birth defects is 0.5-1 percent
   * If chicken pox occurs within the 13th and 20th week, the risk of birth defects is 2 percent
   * If chicken pox occurs within 5 days or less of delivery or 1-2 days after delivery, there is a 20-25% chance that your baby will develop chicken pox, known as congenital varicella.
   * If chicken pox occurs within 6-12 days before delivery, there is a chance that the baby can still get chicken pox. In this case your baby may receive some of your newly made chicken pox antibodies, which will cause the congenital varicella to be mild.

   Possible birth defects may be scars, eye problems, poor growth, small head size, delayed development, and/or mental retardation.

   # If you have had chicken pox before, then there is nothing you need to do to protect your baby during pregnancy. Your body should have antibodies that protect you from contracting chicken pox; therefore, your baby will be protected.

   # If you have not had chicken pox before, you may receive the shot of zoster immune globulin (ZIG) if you are pregnant and come in contact with someone who has chicken pox. ZIG must be given with 4 days of first exposure. This is only given if you do not already have the antibodies against chicken pox.
4. trisha_alexandria says:

   December 27, 2010 at 5:22 am

   Congenital Varicella Syndrome is an extremely rare disorder in which affected infants have distinctive abnormalities at birth (congenital) due to the mother’s infection with chickenpox (maternal varicella zoster) early during pregnancy (i.e., up to 20 weeks gestation). Affected newborns may have a low birth weight and characteristic abnormalities of the skin; the arms, legs, hands, and/or feet (extremities); the brain; the eyes; and/or, in rare cases, other areas of the body. The range and severity of associated symptoms and physical findings may vary greatly from case to case depending upon when maternal varicella zoster infection occurred during fetal development.

   In many cases, newborns with Congenital Varicella Syndrome may be abnormally small and have a low birth weight due to abnormal growth delays during fetal development (intrauterine growth retardation). In addition, distinctive skin abnormalities are often present. Certain areas of the skin may consist of thickened, overgrown (hypertrophic) scar tissue (cicatrix), and surrounding skin may appear abnormally hardened (indurate), red, and inflamed (erythema). Such cicatrix scarring typically occurs on one or more of the arms and/or legs, which may also be malformed, underdeveloped (hypoplastic), and abnormally shortened (reduction deformities). Affected infants may also exhibit incomplete development (hypoplasia) of certain fingers and/or toes (rudimentary digits).

   In some cases, newborns with Congenital Varicella Syndrome may have abnormalities of the brain such as degeneration of the outer portion of the brain (cortical atrophy) and/or abnormal enlargement of cavities of the brain (dilated ventricles [ventriculomegaly]). There may also be abnormalities of the part of the nervous system that controls involuntary functions (autonomic nervous system) such as damage to or abnormalities of certain nerve fibers (sympathetic nerve fibers) that pass from the spinal cord to the neck and/or pelvic area. Some affected infants and children may also exhibit abnormal smallness of the head (microcephaly), delays in the acquisition of skills requiring the coordination of mental and physical activities (psychomotor retardation), varying degrees of mental retardation, and/or learning disabilities. In some cases, characteristic eye (ocular) abnormalities may also be present including loss of transparency of the lenses of the eyes (cataracts); abnormal smallness of one or both eyes (unilateral or bilateral microphthalmia); involuntary, rapid, side-to-side movements of the eyes (pendular nystagmus); and/or inflammation and scarring of certain membranes of the eyes (chorioretinitis and chorioretinal scarring). Such ocular abnormalities may result in varying degrees of visual impairment. In rare cases, newborns with Congenital Varicella Syndrome may have additional abnormalities associated with the disorder.
5. sidnee_marie says:

   December 27, 2010 at 5:29 am

   I truly think you need to base this on what your doctor says–not on what people here say. Have you talked to your OB about this?