Chickenpox during pregnancy can be a serious problem when a woman gets the disease during the first or second half of pregnancy, as well as in the last 5 days before delivery. Generally, depending on a woman’s gestational age at the time of chickenpox, the baby may be born underweight or malformed in the arms, legs or brain, for example.
To avoid chickenpox during pregnancy, it is important to avoid contact with people with chickenpox, as well as it is important for a woman to get vaccinated against chickenpox before becoming pregnant, if she has not taken it in childhood.
- The risk of chickenpox during pregnancy varies with gestational age.
- I.
- E.
- When the woman becomes infected in the first few weeks of pregnancy.
- The risk of transmitting the virus to the baby is lower.
- But if this occurs.
- The baby may have complications during its development.
- On the other hand.
- If the infection occurs between the second and third trimesters.
- The risks to the baby are lower.
In general, the risks associated with chickenpox during pregnancy are:
In addition, when the woman has chickenpox within 5 days of delivery and up to 48 hours, the baby may also get chickenpox, and it is recommended that she stay in the hospital for appropriate treatment and avoid complications.
If the woman develops signs and symptoms of chickenpox during pregnancy, it is important to contact the obstetrician to avoid complications and, in some cases, chickenpox immunoglobulins may be recommended, in addition to the possibility that the woman may have to take cold baths to lower the ferret, avoid scratching wounds and keep nails cut off.
The symptoms of chickenpox during pregnancy are the same as those of chickenpox in childhood, with the appearance of red spots first on the face, but that spread easily throughout the body and cause a lot of itching. In addition, the woman may experience headache, fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
Pregnant women with chickenpox symptoms should immediately consult the obstetrician after pregnancy or go to the emergency room to initiate appropriate treatment, avoiding serious complications, such as dehydration, which can also affect the baby. Here’s how to identify chickenpox symptoms.
The best way to prevent chickenpox during pregnancy is to get vaccinated before you become pregnant. The chickenpox vaccine is usually indicated during childhood, with the first dose indicated at 12 months and the second dose between 15 and 24 months.
However, if the woman has not been vaccinated in childhood and has not had chickenpox throughout her life, it is important to be vaccinated before becoming pregnant, as this vaccine during pregnancy is contracted and can only be taken after delivery. and during the lactation period. Learn more about the chickenpox vaccine.
If the woman has not been vaccinated before pregnancy, it is important to avoid contact with people with chickenpox, as this way it is possible to avoid infection, which reduces the risk to the baby.