In most cases the varicella virus causes chicken pox which is known to be a benign, self limited, viral infection. Chicken pox suffered by children is less harmful than that suffered by elderly people but the worst of complications arise when chicken pox affects a pregnant woman as it has chances to damage not only the mother but also the infant inside. Women who have experienced chicken pox before or have been immunized to antibodies stand chances of having these antibodies passed to the infant while pregnant via the placenta. Thus these women who are already immune to chicken pox need not worry about complications for either themselves or their child even if they are around somebody who is suffering from chicken pox.
When a woman visits the doctor for her first prenatal visit, she must be questioned about her previous experiences with chicken pox. A basic chicken pox infection would take place only in 0.05% to 0.07% of pregnancies because most women who bear children, at their age are already immune to the varicella virus due to a previous vaccination. However if a woman does acquire chicken pox during her pregnancy, and that too in the third trimester, she is at a great risk of developing varicella pneumonia. This especially is a life threatening infection of the lungs caused by the varicella virus.
Primary chicken pox in the eight and twelfth weeks of pregnancy carries high chances of congenital varicella syndrome that will give rise to birth defects in the child. Scarring of the skin is the most common manifestation of congenital varicella syndrome. There are some other abnormalities that can occur as well. These would include the growth of a smaller head, problems in vision, low birth weight, underdeveloped limbs and mental retardation. If the woman contracts chicken pox 5 days before and 2 days after her delivery, there are chances that her new born might get disseminated varicella infection. This takes place when the virus affects a newborn before the protective maternal antibodies are transferred. This infection causes death for the infant in many a case.
Women who suffer from chicken pox while they are pregnant should be treated with Zovirax, an antiviral drug acyclovir which has proved to be very safe during pregnancy. Women who are pregnant and are suffering from varicella pneumonia should be treated with IV acyclovir and also kept in the hospital for constant monitoring. Accordingly, depending on the kind of chicken pox the pregnant woman is suffering from, the doctor will advise her to follow a particular measure to help cure herself. Children whose mothers suffer from chicken pox only 5 days before or 2 days after delivery, whould be given VZIG after birth and those children who get varicella during the first two weeks of life should be given IV acyclovir.
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