I am a teacher, and back in December, I was exposed to Fifth's Disease from a student in my class. I had bloodwork done the next day, and that came back negative. However, my OB wanted to recheck in a month to see if the results were the same. Unfortunately, they came back positive this time. I am scared to death, and was wondering if anyone else had Fifth's Disease while pregnant, and what happened. I am 21 weeks pregnant, and go see a Maternal Fetal Specialist on Feb. 3rd to have a scan done to check on the baby. I just had an ultrasound the same day I had my bloodwork done, and the baby looked perfect, nothing to be concerned about they said. This is all I have been able to think about, and all the research is so overwhelming and a bit scary. Just need to hear from some mommies who have had this happen to them.
Fifth disease only seems to be a risk in the 1st trimester, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. It is not associated with any birth defects.
I had no idea what fifths disease was but looked it up at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_disease
It says that if exposed during first trimester it causes spontaneous abortion, but didn't say anything about the second or third trimester. If you are still carrying the baby then that probably means you are ok. Maybe you got just enough immunity to make the baby immune without actually getting it or giving to your unborn. You are probably ok but I understand your concern. I would be livid.
Good luck and I hope everything turns out better than you expect.....
Happy pregnancy.
I had Fifth's Disease at 6 months pregnant & it was fine. The doctor told me that the only concern is usually in the 1st trimester, yet even then cases of any damage to baby is small. I was told that it COULD lead to thing like pneumonia but rarely does.
But you should be fine. You may break out in the rash, itch and have fever but shouldn't be anything affecting the baby. THe only thing I've seen when you get a positive is your doctor may choose to monitor you more closely. But I do not think you have much to worry about. Fifth's Disease is a lot more common than people realize and has been around a long time. The baby I was pregnant with at the time is now 16.
It went through our 10yods's school last year so it's still around.
I hope you get some peace about this & I hope I helped.
A.,
I contracted Fifth's Disease about 6 yrs ago and was told that once you have it, it will always be in your system and you will always test positive for it. I told my OB about it and everything with my pregnancy was fine. When I was exposed I was very ill and had pneumonia at the same time and was out of work 2 1/2 weeks and it took me a long time to recover my strength. Needless to say I had a wonderful pregnancy. As long as your OB is in the loop and monitoring you, I would not worry too much. My daughter was born very healthy and has done wonderfully, now almost 2 1/2.
Take care,
K.
First of all, don't read the research! It tends to only tell the scary stories-I had to learn that early on in my pregnancy as I too am a teacher and God knows everything that we are exposed to. I do know 3 teachers that had fifths during pregnancy. One of them did need transfusions for it, but the baby is perfectly heathly. The other two had no effects what so ever. The one that I am closest to has had to go back and forth for several weeks to get an ultrasound, but NOTHING has affected the baby. She is perfect and growing beautifully! Mom does not have to go back to get an ultrasound now with 6 weeks left. The down fall is she had to pay $40 a week for ultrasound copay, but she got to see the baby each week. Try not to worry too much, I know it is hard, and try to listen only to the drs. I was exposed to so much during pregnancy and it seemed that everyone had their own stories about people they knew that such and such happened to, but most of them turned out to be false. (You can't miscarry if you are exposed to Strep throat for ex). I hope my ramblings have helped a little. :)
It didn't happen to me but a really close friend of mine was pregnant when he daughter came home from school with fifth's disease. I don't want to bore you with the details but every thing was fine!! The baby is now 2.5 and has always been 100% healthy, other than random colds here and there.... Wait to freak out until you go see your doctor and get a decisive answer!!!
I was exposed to Fifth's disease when pregnant with my 2nd. I had the blood work done to test for immunity to the disease and was not immune (stramngely enough as i am around kids all the time as a therapist) they then did an ultrasound to check the baby and everything was fine. She is now a wild bouncing 3 year old. No issues with the pregnancy other tahn the "scare"...birth was perfect too. Good luck with your little bundle!
Hi A.,
I'm sorry that this has happened. I don't know anything about Fifth disease, but Googled it, and got this link, which has a section on Fifth disease during pregnancy. If you haven't already checked it out, you might want to. Good luck! Remember that babies can be healthy even though all kinds of bad things have happened to them in utero. Don't give up hoping that all will be well!
Hi A.,
I've never had Fifth's Disease but here's a link to a website that might be helpful http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/skin/fifth.html
I think you and your baby should be ok.
This may or not be helpful but I wrote an article yesterday on MRSA and Staph Infections and basically the same applications I use to prevent the spread of that would also apply to viruses http://aromatherapy4u.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/disinfecta...
Hope this helps,
E.
I am 11 weeks pregnant and just tested positive for fifth's. Can you tell me how things went with your pregnancy?
My friend's son had fifth's disease while she was pregnant with her other son. She had to have an ultrasound also. He turned out to be fine. My son also had fifth's disease during my pregnancy with my daughter. I had blood work done and the OB said that I had built up immunities to the disease and that everything was fine. He said I must have been exposed to it when I was a child. My daughter is a healthy wild little girl.
Although I do know of someone whose baby did not develop normally after she was exposed to both Fifth's and Chicken Pox while pregnant, it was in her first trimester when exposure occurred. This terrified me, b/c she had worked at the same preschool I did, and the next year I was pregnant and everyone worried about me catching something from the kids. People (including most docs) tend to be overly cautious about these things, but from all I've ever heard or read, if you were past the first 12-13 weeks of your pregnancy, the baby had developed past the point of being affected by such viral infections. I am sure the docs are just keeping an eye on things until they are positive things are progressing normally. If the docs brushed it off and then something DID happen, they would be liable...
Just pray for good health for you and your baby and leave the rest to God. You can't do anything other than the normal rest and care to change anything now, so let Him take on your worries!
Blessings,
A.
