Pregnancy and HPV

Posted on June 30, 2009 in Latest News

Many women who want to get pregnant or are pregnant are concerned about how Human Papillomavirus (HPV) will affect them and their child. Here are some directions.

You have no history of HPV

If you have no history of HPV and are trying to get pregnant, you do not need to get a test done to see if you have HPV.
If you have been having regular Pap tests, any abnormality would have alerted the doctor to check further for HPV. Once you get pregnant, a Pap test will be taken at the first doctor visit. If it shows abnormalities, the doctor will order more tests.

You have a history of HPV

If you have a history of HPV, make sure your doctor knows. You should tell your doctor what kind of symptoms you experienced. Your doctor will want to monitor you closely because more rapid changes can occur during pregnancy.

You are pregnant with HPV

No link has been found between HPV and pregnancy complications. The risk of transmitting the virus to the baby is considered very low. Even if baby does get the HPV virus, its body will usually clear the virus by itself.

If you have been diagnosed for the high-risk types of HPV associated with cervical cancer, the doctor will monitor you during the pregnancy to watch for cervical tissue changes.

If you have genital warts, the doctor will monitor to see if the warts get larger. Hormone changes during pregnancy can cause the warts to multiply or get larger. Sometimes the warts will bleed.

If the warts are not substantial, the doctor may postpone treatment until after childbirth. But if the warts get so serious that they might cause an obstruction in childbirth, they may need to be removed before childbirth.

Genital warts can be removed surgically, with chemical treatment, or with painless electric current.

Very rarely, a baby born to a woman who has genital warts will develop warts in the throat. This serious condition is called respiratory papillomatosis and requires frequent laser surgery to prevent the warts from blocking the baby’s breathing passages.

The value of a cesarean section in trying to prevent HPV transmission from other to newborn baby is questioned. Some say it could offer some protection against HPV for the baby. But according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, because babies rarely get HPV during childbirth, and can clear the infection on their own, the risks of surgery don’t outweigh the possible benefit.

After child birth

If a Pap test was abnormal during pregnancy, the doctor may order more tests a few weeks after childbirth. Sometimes, the cervical cell changes disappear after childbirth and no treatment is needed.
Sometimes, genital warts also go away. If not, the doctor will suggest treatment after childbirth.

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