Genital herpes affects about 25 percent of the population. It is extremely common for women to have outbreaks during pregnancy.

Your doctor will watch you closely during the last several weeks of pregnancy. The only time herpes is dangerous to your baby is if the baby comes into direct contact with the virus. This can occur if your baby delivers vaginally while you have a herpes sore on the vagina or if you are "shedding virus" in the vagina just after having a sore. Obstetricians are careful to deliver you by Cesarean if you have an active vaginal sore while you are in labor or if you have an active vaginal sore near your due date and you break your water.

Most obstetricians do not use medication to treat herpes in the early part of pregnancy. Toward your eighth or ninth month, they may treat you with medication to accelerate the healing process and give you the best chance to have a vaginal birth.

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