Can Genital Herpes Be Transmitted From Mother To Child?

Posted on Tue, 10 Jan 2017

Question: I have been diagnosed with Genital Herpes, my wife doesn't have it. We are interested in resuming a sex life as normal as we can, but we are wary of having the disease infect her. What precautions can be taken, and what is the probability of infecting my partner? I've heard of a once a day pill to ensure I don't have flair ups and would like to know if this is a reasonable course of action. I've also read that as long as I am not showing any symptoms it is not transferable. I'd like to know what visible showings make it contagious, as I've never had any showing at all like those I have seen when searching images on the internet. If I am feeling a discomfort like a mild urinary infection, would that be a flair up of the Herpes or something separate? If it is a flair up, but with no visible lesions, would it be a time of higher risk of transference?

I've been infected for 6 months

We are married and have no other partners, so the risk of infection is only from me to my wife. Obviously we would like to prevent the passage to her, so looking for reasonable precautions and odds of transmission.

We are not planning on having kids, but have read about the risks of transmission during birth..

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
asymptomatic transmission can occur

Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

Asymptomatic (no symptoms present at the time) transmission of herpes can occur unfortunately, you can confirm this by checking online.
Transmission is not as common as if symptoms are present but it can occur.

Treatment with anti viral medications would significantly decrease the chance of both asymptomatic transmission and also reduce flare ups as well.

Antivirals are acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir. Valacyclovir particularly has been shown in a medical study to help reduce transmission.
If it is used on a daily basis, it is taken 1g once daily.

Flare ups may initially present as pain in the groin region , redness and rash. The rash would have a small blister /water bump appearance that would then open or crust.
These stages are usually painful.Discomfort on urination can occur as well.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar