Chicken pox in pregnant women, can it harm the fetus?

Chicken pox can occur in pregnant women even though they have tried to keep their body in a fit condition. The reason is, chickenpox is a very contagious viral infection. So, what if you have never been infected with this disease and were infected during pregnancy? Can chickenpox in pregnant women endanger the safety of the fetus?

Risk factors for chickenpox in pregnant women

Chickenpox is caused by infection with the varicella virus. Symptoms of chickenpox are characterized by the appearance of a skin rash in the form of red or bouncy spots filled with fluid.

This red rash causes intense itching and can spread to several parts of the body such as the face, hands, and feet.

There are several conditions that increase the risk of smallpox in pregnant women, namely:

Pregnant women are at risk of contracting chickenpox when they come into contact with or are near infected people.
If pregnant women are not sure that they have or have not had chickenpox before and are in contact with an infected person. To be sure, check with your doctor for a blood test whether you have antibodies to the virus that causes chickenpox or not.
If you have had chickenpox before, the chances of you getting chickenpox again are very slim because your body has developed immunity to the virus. Even if the symptoms of chickenpox appear, they are usually very mild.

Health problems that arise are usually related to the body's immune system response. Pregnant women are among those who are at risk of having chickenpox twice because their immune system is less than optimal.

The risk of chickenpox in pregnant women in the early trimester

If pregnant women have never had chickenpox before and for the first time during pregnancy, this condition can affect your condition and your womb.

A pregnancy complication that may occur due to chickenpox infection is pneumonia. Meanwhile, the risk to your baby really depends on the time when the mother has the infection.

Reporting from Mayoclinic, if chickenpox occurs early in pregnancy (during the first or second trimester), at birth the baby is at risk of developing congenital varicella syndrome (CVS). Although in fact this case is still very rare. However, the risk is higher if you catch chickenpox at 13-20 weeks of gestation.

CVS is characterized by birth defects, the most common of which are scarring of the skin, defects in the limbs, an abnormal head with a smaller size, neurological problems (such as learning difficulties), and vision problems.

Babies with CVS can also experience poor growth in the uterus, have seizures, and have physical and mental developmental disabilities. Chickenpox during pregnancy can also increase the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth (stillbirth).

To check how badly chickenpox in pregnant women affects the growth and development of the fetus, you can do an ultrasound examination. An ultrasound can show whether your fetal brain and vital organs are developing properly during pregnancy.

However, ultrasound cannot detect all types of birth defects. You may be able to do a more in-depth examination after the ultrasound.

The risk of chickenpox in pregnant women in the final trimester

If chickenpox in pregnant women is experienced in the third trimester (approximately 6-12 days before birth), the fetus may have the lowest risk of experiencing the effects of chickenpox.

This happens because about 5 days after you have chickenpox, the body will produce antibodies to fight the virus and these antibodies produced by your body will also flow to your fetus through the placenta. These antibodies will provide protection to your fetus.

However, chicken pox in pregnant women can also pose a dangerous risk to the fetus at the end of the pregnancy. The time between 5 days before birth and 2 days after birth is the most at risk when you get chickenpox.

The fetus can catch the chickenpox virus because it does not have time to receive antibodies from you. So, at this time your fetus could be at high risk for developing neonatal varicella or chickenpox in the newborn. This disease has serious consequences and can even threaten the life of your baby.

However, the risk of your fetus getting neonatal varicella can be reduced if the baby is given the injection right away varicella zoster immune globulin (VZIG). The VZIG injection contains chickenpox antibodies so that it can increase the baby's immunity to chickenpox.

The VZIG injection can be given as soon as the baby is born or as soon as you notice a rash on the baby's skin within two days of birth. The VZIG injection can also be given before the baby is 28 weeks old, including for all premature babies born to mothers infected with chickenpox.

How to deal with chicken pox in pregnant women

If pregnant women realize that they have been exposed to the chickenpox virus or have shown symptoms of the disease, they need to immediately see a doctor. To diagnose chickenpox in pregnant women, the doctor will identify the symptoms which can be accompanied by a blood test to check your immunity to viral infection.

If the test results show that you are positive for chickenpox, you will need to undergo chickenpox treatment such as:

1. Get a VZIG injection

If the VZIG injection is given within 10 days of exposure to the virus, it can be very effective at reducing the risk of serious complications of chickenpox in pregnant women. Unfortunately, these injections are not yet known whether they can prevent congenital varicella syndrome (CVS) in babies at birth.

This smallpox protection injection can work on the body of pregnant women for about 3 weeks. Therefore, if you still get chickenpox more than 3 weeks after the injection, you will need to get another VIZG shot.

2. Antiviral treatment

Antiviral drugs in pill form will also be given to speed up the healing period of the infection. The type of antiviral commonly used to stop vericella virus infection is acyvlovir. This drug will be more effective if given 24 hours after the first appearance of the rash.

If chickenpox in pregnant women occurs during childbirth, in addition to getting an injection of immunoglobulins, antiviral drugs will also be given to the baby as soon as possible.

How to prevent chicken pox during pregnancy

To avoid chickenpox during pregnancy, you should have a blood test before pregnancy to check whether your body is immune to the chickenpox virus or not.

If not, you can get a vaccine against the chickenpox virus before pregnancy. The chickenpox vaccine cannot be given when you are pregnant because it can harm the fetus in your womb.