Chickenpox, Is this dangerous for me and my baby?

Julie

I am 30 weeks pregnant and I had high blood pressure and swollen legs. It was really hard but with a strong diet, medications and good luck I am feeling better. Yesterday when my neighbor told me that she has chickenpox I got scared and I said to myself is there something else that I did not get during my pregnancy and now chickenpox?

PregnancyExpert

Chickenpox is caused by varicella zoster virus. If you have had chickenpox as a child it is not that much of a problem but if you are pregnant the complications are much bigger. If you had contact with someone that has chickenpox and you are not sure if you had the vaccine but you are sure that you had chickenpox as a child then you are immune and there is no reason to be scared at all. There are good chances that there is no harm to your baby ,but if you get chickenpox between 13-20 weeks of gestation there is low risk that can harm your baby. If you have been in contact with someone that has chickenpox, you are not sure if you had a chickenpox as a child and you are not sure if you had the vaccine, you should better call your healthcare provider to arrange you to have a blood test and confirm your status. If the blood test shows that you are not immune you can get a shot of VariZIG to reduce your chances to have infection and serious complications.