What Determines Whether Delivery Will Be Vaginal or Cesarean?
Only rarely is the herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection transmitted from mother to baby during pregnancy. When this occurs, however, the baby is at high risk (over 40%) of serious harm, or death. • If you have a primary infection-If you are newly infected at the time of your delivery, your baby is at higher risk of developing the infection. You will have to deliver your baby by C-section. • If you have a recurrent infection-If you are having an active recurrent (repeat) infection, the risk of transmission to your baby is lower. Nonetheless, cesarean is still recommended because the consequences of infection to the baby are so severe. • If you have no current symptoms-If you have a history of herpes, but are not experiencing lesions or other symptoms at the time of delivery, you may deliver vaginally without fear of infecting your baby. Though the precautions outlined above reduce the risk of transmission to the baby, there is still a risk of your baby becoming infected. Some newborn ba
