Can I get pregnant if I have recurrent genital herpes?

Genital herpes, as the name suggests, means herpes grows in the human genital area. The main symptoms are: itching, redness, swelling and pain in the genital area, small bumps, and herpes is easy to spread. Therefore, many people suffer from frequent recurrences of genital herpes, which is a headache. For women, recurrent genital herpes can easily affect pregnancy and the fetus. This article briefly explains whether it is possible to get pregnant if you have recurrent genital herpes?

Genital herpes is a disease that particularly torments patients. Recently, many pregnant women have come to the outpatient clinic for genital herpes. The symptoms of this disease are generally obvious. Some attacks can heal in a few days, but it is particularly easy to relapse, sometimes several times a year, and last for many years. These repeated attacks are very troublesome for the infected, especially for pregnant mothers.

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2. There are two types of herpes simplex virus. Infection with type 1 herpes virus mainly occurs around the mouth and nose. The blisters around the mouth after a high fever (commonly known as fever blisters) belong to this type. Herpes virus type 2 infection mostly occurs around the anus and genitals and is mainly transmitted through sexual contact. During sexual intercourse, the friction between the genital skin and mucous membranes causes slight injuries, which can give the herpes simplex virus an opportunity to invade the human body. The incubation period from the entry of the virus into the body to the onset of disease is generally 1 week, but can be as long as 3 weeks.

Genital herpes infection in pregnant women can cause miscarriage and neonatal death. For those recurrent patients who are already older women who are late in childbearing (over 30 years old), if they are eager to get pregnant, it is recommended not to get pregnant during the period of frequent genital herpes, because if they become pregnant during the period of frequent herpes, that is, if they become pregnant when symptoms appear or if herpes recurs or they are infected with herpes within 3 months of pregnancy, there is a chance of causing miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal malformations; if there are only mild recurrence symptoms in the middle and late pregnancy, such as small-scale erythema blisters, the damage to the fetus is relatively small. If herpes recurs during delivery, the newborn may be infected when passing through the cervix, vagina and vulva where the herpes virus is active. After birth, the newborn may show oral, skin and eye herpes, and may even suffer from nerve and internal organ damage, high fever, difficulty breathing, bleeding, convulsions, etc. The child may die as a result, and those who survive by chance may have sequelae. Therefore, it is recommended that expectant mothers in this situation choose cesarean section. If the patient is young and not in a hurry to get pregnant, it is recommended that she go to a regular hospital's dermatology and venereology department for treatment to reduce the number of recurrences and alleviate the symptoms of recurrences. It is best to control the disease without recurrence for 6 months before considering pregnancy in a healthy state.