Slap Cheek during pregnancy

I discovered today that I was exposed to slap cheek last weekend. I've now got a sore throat and runny nose which could be anything but could also be early symptoms. I couldn't get hold of my OB or my GP today and my OB is now off duty until Monday. I did speak to the nurse at the GP's who didn't really know much but thought it would be OK as I was past 20 weeks. Mum is sure I didn't have it as a child so I'm probably not immune.

Has anyone else out there had it and have any advice? I'm really attempting not to get over anxious about this but did read somewhere about something called hydrops fetalis which is also linked to Rh- mothers (that's me too).

Thanks

My friends daughter had this a couple of weeks ago, and when i told my midwife she almost had a heart attack even though i told her i hadn't been near them
Apparently it's very dangerous to pregnant women, i'm sorry i don't mean to scare you, but you really should go to a Dr or your ob ASAP!

Slapped Cheek disease, when contracted during pregnancy, can cause a fetal abnormality called hydrops fetalis, which results in swelling and sometimes cardiac damage to the developing fetus.

We too had a scare during my wife's pregnancy, when our little girl caught what could only be slapped cheek - her cheeks looked like they were about to peel off.

The good news is that a large percentage of the population have been exposed to it in the past, as it is quite common. However, you need to get a blood test as soon as possible to see whether you have been exposed to it before. If you have, then there is no problem. If you haven't been exposed to it before, then our hospital clinic recommended weekly ultrasounds to check on the baby's heart.

Luckily, my wife had been exposed to it before, so we didn't need to go down that route.


You can find information about hydrops fetalis on Wikipedia. You can also find information about Slapped Cheek; it's proper name is Parvovirus B19. You might also like to let your GP, or their nurse, know that this actually IS fairly serious and that you need to be seen ASAP to determine your previous exposure. That might streamline the process of being seen.

That all sounds like really good advice blackbird. I know that my Ob checked my immunity when I had my blood test. He said that I am not immune, but there is not much I can do about it. If I am at all concerned that I may be developing symptoms, to contact him straight away. And in the meantime, stay away from anyone who has it........

So I think you should definitely get in contact with your HCP, or whoever is relieving them when they are off-duty. If only for your own peace of mind. Good luck, I hope it's just a cold :)

Thanks everyone. I'll go to the GP in the morning. I'm sure he'll agree to me having a blood test even if he doesn't initiate the idea IYKWIM.

I wasn't using the term parvovirus 'cos everyone I used it with thought I was talking about a dog disease. :eek:

Michael - it's great having you on here!

Thanks Brooke. I have an ultrasound appt on Monday too with a really nice sonographer. I'll tell her too.

I hadn't heard of it before until the Adelaide footballer got it recently and couldn't play for weeks.

Saw the duty GP at my usual clinic this morning and he was next to useless. He didn't know anything about complications with pregnancy and didn't even know if you could get tests done. That said, given I said I wanted the test, he rang the lab and double checked and ordered the test. When I went to the path lab next door, they said it was a reasonably common test, nothing out of the ordinary at all.

I'll get results Monday and have a little vent to my usual GP about his colleague. Thanks for your advice and support.

Some drs are numbnuts.
I actually thought Jenna might have had this over the last week, I took her to the dr, and she said if I develop any symptoms I need to get some blood tests done, and they can see if the virus is there.
When I explained it to my mum she seemed to think that there was every possiblity we had it as children, and she put it down to teething.
Apparently its not so bad after 20w. Apparently......

Good luck with the test.

Hey blackbird, how did you go with your test results and u/s?

U/S was great - blood flow and placenta all good (no sign of anemia) and heart looking very healthy. she checked everything they normally would if I had tested positive. According to their calcs, DS is already 6 pounds 6 with plenty of room still to grow!

Idiot Dr still hadn't called me by nearly 5pm (he knew I was worried..grr) so I rang and chased him. I don't have previous immunity and was negative for current exposure. He obviously did a bit of research in the meantime and worked out that the incubation period may not have completed when I did the test so wants to re-test in 2 weeks unless my OB says differently.

Seeing the OB on Thursday. As my U/S was so good, I'll talk to him about it then.

Thanks for all your interest and support! :hug:

Glad your u/s went well, Blackbird.
When I was pregnant with Gab, we had slapcheek going around the school where I worked. It was actually the Principal and the VP's that alerted me to it and told me to mention it to my GP. I too had no immunity. He wanted me to take time off work until it was no longer prevalent in the school! I was in the 1st trimester so right at the danger period. I told my doctor that it was ridiculous to suggest me taking time off work... after all, I was responsible for 28 children who'd already had a teacher change that year. So I sent a note out to all their parents informing them of my pregnancy. I asked that if they had any inkling that their child was exposed to or showing the affects of slap cheek that they inform me and not bring the child to school. The parents all took it SO well and I got many, many congratulations. The virus ran through a few preps and some 5/6 kids but never hit the 1/2 department where I worked so I am glad I didn't take any time off work. I thought my boss handled it all brilliantly - she even gave me a heap of information about the virus.

At my last school one poor pregnant woman had to work in district office for weeks until all cases at the school had been cleared. She was told to stay away which was pretty scary for her and disruptive for the class. I haven't seen any cases at my new school at all.

hi
i too have no immunity and unfortunately not enough info for us when we need it.im a hairdresser and i have to put a sign up at work saying if anyone has had or been in contact that i cannot do their hair.a client of mine miscarried due to her 4yr old having it.im sorry i said that but i just wish people new about it being pregnant is hard enough at times let alone having to deal with parvovirus(yep everyone thinks its a dogs disease)
kel

Kel... I agree. I'd never even heard of parvovirus before it was mentioned to me. If it's still about and is still so risky, why isn't it made more public?

Interestingly enough my OB includes that in routine bloodtest when you go for your first apt, that along with toxo and a few other things. That way you KNOW what your immunities are and know what you can do about it. But I agree more information needs to be out there.

*hugs*
Cailin

hi
yep my ob tests for all of that straight up.she said it can make the baby anemic and would have to do a transfusion in uetro wow.people think you are overreacting which really annoys me.

I hope you are okay Blackbird - how did things go?

A great percentage of adults are immune to parvo virus. The good news is for Blackbird that this illness is most dangerous to pregnant women in the first trimester.

Cailin as you have said most obs will do this in their routine screen.

It IS a very real concern for pregnant women and it makes me cross when I see parents with little ones and a snotty nose and a bright red face! I think our society has become a bit blase about illness and just how readily we can all be exposed.

:hug:

Parvo virus aka slapcheek is highly contagious and is spread by droplet. This is why a large number of the adult population are immune because a large number have been in contact with it.

So, you sneeze an put your hand over your mouth and then shake my hand and I wipe my mouth and there is a good chance that communication has taken place.

Slapcheek is often a very mild illness in children with a runny nose but the red slapped affect the cheeks get is a give away.

Generally speaking youshould be screened / tested for CMV, Parvo, toxo, varicella, rubella on your routine bloods. Check with your doctor. If you haven't been tested it's worthwhile just so you know that you need to be a little more wary.
CMV, Parvo and toxo are not illnesses that you can be vaccinated for so the only immunity you will have is if you have been exposed.
I hope that helps

One thing I found out was that the "slapped cheek" look (the redness) appears when the person is no longer contageous... so, by then, it's too late - kind of like chicken pox.

My nephew has slap cheek and only after reading this post last night did I realise that I had been exposed.

I spoke with my GP today who said that any risk is relatively low after 20 weeks, but is sending me for a blood test......

Its all a bit scary... now i am worried. I dont think there is a great level of awareness of the effects this virus can have on pregnant women. I was aware of rubella etc - but not slap cheek:(

i just found out my friends child has slap cheek, whom my son and i see regaurly. im pregnant 20 weeks, the doctor is doing the blood test but i have been reading about it to find out what it may do to the baby. it can effect the baby up to 20 weeks pregnant. it can cause miscarrage, heart problems in baby and low iron, where baby needs blood transfetion in uterus. it is a big deal, get the blood test. if you have been in contact with some one who has it with in the last 4 to 20 days.

I have just been told i have tested positive to Parvo B19, i am now 29+4 weeks. I had to have an US done back in September at 24 weeks for an ecogenitic bowel they picked up in my 18 week scan, so i was referred to the major maternity hospital in Brisbane, after having a second scan at 24 weeks to check on the bowel, i was cleared of bubby having an ecogenitic bowel but the scan showed bubby had a large abdominal size, the DR ran some bloods and recommended a repeat scan at 32 weeks for growth just because of the abdominal size.

Yesterday 5 weeks after the bloods were taken my gp was annoyed she didn't get a copy of the blood results and chased them up all of a sudden i get a call out of the blue saying i need to see her ASAP.
The results say i was returning a positive to Parvo. Today i had to have repeat tests for parvo and still have had NO contact from the ante natal clinic .

I hope all is ok with bubby ,now i just have to wait till i hear from the hospital and my 32 week scan and my bloods taken today. I hate not knowing i am worried but can do nothing but wait.

Hi everyone,
I hope everyone who was exposed to parvovirus had a good outcome!
I was exposed to the virus in the first trimester of my pregnancy and i have just found out from an amnio that the baby was infected as well. I am 19 weeks pregnant atm and so far no problems. It is a huge worry though, as if there aren't enough things to be anxious about.
Lisaniki

Lisa - So glad all is going well with you and bub. I am currently being tested for slap cheek so you have given me hope with your results.

Hi all,

Here is my experience of the slapped cheek virus, if you are interested -

I was exposed to the parvo virus in my first trimester (I am now 28 weeks pg).

I then had an amnio at 19 weeks pg which confirmed that my baby was definitely infected with the virus. It seems that over 90% of cases of fetal anemia occur within 12 weeks of the fetus being exposured to the virus. So at about 22 weeks they checked my baby's health by listening to the blood flow in the cerebral artery with a doppler. Changes in the blood flow in this artery is one of the early warning signs of fetal anemia. This showed that everything was fine with my baby at 12 weeks past exposure. So it is very unlikely that any harm will come to my baby at this stage. I will probably have one more doppler towards the end just to be on the safe side.

I really feel for anyone who has a scare like this, for me this parvo scare has really added to my stress this pregnancy.

best wishes to everyone, I hope everyone has a good outcome!

Lisa

Lisa - That was really interesting with what you wrote. I am pleased to hear that all is well with your bub. May I ask how far you were when you were exposed to the virus?

Hi,
I hope you are going OK. Did you find out if you have had the virus?

I guess when I was first exposed to the slapped-check (human parvo) virus I must have been around 6-8 weeks pg. All three of my kids had it one after another and apparently it incubates for around 2 weeks. So I would have been exposed from about 6 weeks of pg until around 12 weeks.

I wasn't really sick and didn't have symptoms of the parvo virus, or didn't realise I had any. I did have morning sickness and the usual tiredness so I guess that could have masked the symptoms of a mild virus.

The majority of adults have already been exposed to the virus and are immune/ have antibodies so I wasn't really worried about catching the virus anyway. But just to be on the safe side I had a blood test at 14 weeks of pg. This confirmed that I did have, or had just had, an active infection of the parvo virus.

Being infected with parvo in the first half of pg is apparently worse than later on. Late in pg the fetus has some immune function of it's own and can fight off or recover from the virus spontaneously.

But I still wasn't too concerned about these results because it still seemed like a very low risk that the baby would pick up the virus from me. From what I have read, even when a mum has an active infection, the virus only has about a 10% chance of crossing the placenta and infecting the baby.

I did agree to have an amnio though, just to exclude the possibility that the baby was infected. And I was devastated when the results came back positive for the baby.

We had a couple of pretty bad weeks after than, being very anxious about what it would mean for the baby. Lots of the research we read was very negative and scary. But then my DH found a newer study, a really large meta-analysis which was more reassuring. It pretty much said even when a baby becomes infected in the first half of pregnancy, most times there are no lasting ill-effects. It also seemed to indicate that if the baby is all OK within 12 weeks of exposure then the chances are everything will be fine.

Then we had the doppler at 22 weeks and it all looked good so I went back to being considered a low risk pregnancy again. But I think the extra worry is something that a pregnant mum can definitely do without. It has taken a lot of the fun out of this pregnancy.

I hope you have been given the OK too. Best wishes,

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for sharing hun. I atm havent been given the results just yet, but I must agree with you that this type of stress is definately something that pg women can do without. As it is only my DD who has had it just yet, who knows whether the other 3 will end up with it. Then of course I too could be in the same position as you with several weeks of this strain within the home. Just as we speak my youngest is having a bit of a cough. So hopefully it is just a tickle in her throat and not Slap cheek.

I am hopeing to get my results back today, yet not expecting it tho until at least Tuesday. I have read the same type of information as yourself in relation to the 10% risk and I must say that it eased my mind somewhat, than what it would have if I didnt read up on it. There is always hope that all will be ok.

I have been advised to keep an eye on any symptoms but as you said, half the time it could just be pg related. I will be having an u/s done today for peace of mind, and after having bouts of spotting over the past 3weeks. So hopefully I will see little bub's heart happily beating away.

I will let you know how everything goes and also once I get my BT results back.

Thanks again, and I am so sorry you had to endure such a rough time in your pg too. I have been hanging out to enjoy my pg, yet to nervous and worried to let my guard down so to speak. I am so very happy to hear that your little one has gotten past the scarey time, and I really hope that now you have the best time with the rest of your pg. Lots of hugs

Cheryl

Hi Lisa,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with this virus. ATM I still havent got a result from my BT that had been done, so hopefully I will get it either today or Tuesday. Seems to just drag on.

ATM only my DD has come down with it, yet it is quite possible that my younger DD is copming down with it too. Who knows if my other 2 kids will as well. If that happens then I could well be facing with a long few weeks with this virus around me and the Bub. Hopefully too I am immune yet only time will tell I guess.

I will be having an U/S done today due to some spotting I have been having for the past 3weeks, as well as peace of mind, especially with this clouding over my head. So hopefully I will find my bub's HB happily flashing back at me.

I know what you mean about the pg symtoms may have masked the other symptoms, as I have been advised to watch for any symptoms, yet half the time it could just be pg related. So we can be in a bit of a pickle when we are pg.

I am so sorry that you have had such a long and rough half of your pg, yet I am so happy to hear that your little baby is doing brilliantly. That is music to my ears. I truly hope that you get to enjoy the rest of your pg the way you were supposed to from the very beginning. I am praying that I will get to that point in my pg too, where I can just cruise along without any worries on the world.

As soon as I find out what the results are, and how the u/s goes I will let you know.

Thanks again and TC. Lots of Hugs

Cheryl

Hi there:),

Slap cheek is nothing to brush aside. Especially when you are pregnant, or in the early stages of being pregnant. My sons preschool teacher alerted me and two other pregnant ladies, that one of the kids may have has slap sleek!.

So i went to the doctors straight away, and got a blood test done. Lucklily nothing was detected, although i am not immune to it. And the incubation time is around 2 weeks, before flu like symptoms occur. Luckily nothing happened.

Unfortunately a friend of mine, told me a work mate of hers, had miscarried due to her duaghter catching slap cheek. So if you hear anything about slap cheek, get yourself checked out ASAP.

Mel

Hi Everyone,

I was diagnosed as having parvo virus (aka slap cheek) during my first pregnancy. I found out when I was about 6 weeks pregnant after the blood test was routinely ordered. It was extremelly stressful and I felt really down as I didn't understand the implications of being diagnosed. I ended up having fortnightly ultrasounds to make sure that the baby's heart and brain did not have abnormal levels of fluid. I had these ultrasounds until about 20 weeks.

I ended up having a perfectly healthy baby boy. Interestingly i have found out that the chances of parvo affecting a fetus are very slim - however that does not ease the stress in the meantime.

Another interesting thing to note, is that we are now TTC no. 2. I asked for a blood test to test my immunity to parvo prior to TTC back in November 07. It came back as positive to parvo yet again. The GP and I were both dumbfounded, as you cannot catch parvo twice, and it is impossible for me to be infected for such a long period of time. So now I wonder whether I really had it to begin with or whether it is just an anomoly in my bloods that cannot be explained??!

I know how stressful it can be to have parvo in the air - let alone to be infected, but my little boy is perfectly healthy and wasn't affected by it!

Best wishes to all!
Sasharry

I just wanted to bump this thread to the top as I found it when doing a search on slap cheek when my son came home from school with it. I'm not pregnant but I realise how many pregnant women haven't even heard of slap cheek so thought the issue should be raised again.

As soon as I realised my son had it I rang the school and told them as we have a pregnant teacher. The main problem with slap cheek is that you don't know you have it untill the rash appears on the cheeks, and you are also only infectious untill that stage, so it has pretty much been spread around before you have even found out you have it. It is spread by respiratory droplets (coughing).

So any teachers or childcare workers really need to get checked for immunity to the virus as soon as they find out they are pregnant (not waiting for an outbreak) so they can be more cautious on the job.

I found out on Sunday night that I've potentially been exposed to slap cheek last week, so i went to have blood tests yesterday.

im 9 weeks so quite stressed an axious about the whole thing. My couins daughter, who is the oe who has it, her doctor says the chances of me getting it from her are small since i didnt have physical contact with her - she qwas int he same room and I sat across the table from her, but not sneezing/coughing/touching etc.

so I'll find out the inital test results by Thursday this week. I dint know if i was tested for immunity to it last time when I was pg with DS - would my dr still have those results on file, it was 3 years ago now.

Ladies,
If any of you have found out that you have come in contact with slap cheek, get to the doctors straight away!
I came in contact with slap cheek at 10 weeks pregnant but did not know until after my 12 week scan. When I went for my scan everything was fine and looking well.
When I found out I had come in contact with it I went to the doctors and got my bloods done. They took 4 weeks to come back and they showed I have caught slap cheek during my pregnancy. Bu this time I was nearly 16 weeks pregnant. I booked myself in for a scan at the hospital as my doctor told me not to worry! The day of my scan was the day I turned 16 weeks. When I went for my scan it was then I found out that my baby had died. Heartbreaking.
Looking a the scan the consultant realised that the measurement of the baby was 12 weeks so it had happened just after my scan. My body didn't start to get rid of the baby so I carried it around for 4 weeks without knowing!! therefore I had to then have a D&C the next day!

The other day I went back to the consultant, it has now been a month since everything has happened, and the consultant confirmed that it was slap cheek that caused the baby to die. Please ladies get it checked out and don't leave it! I agree there is no info on this horrible virus and something needs to be done about it! The most heartbreaking thing was that the consultant went through all the results and told me that the baby was perfect. The dates and size of it were perfect. It had all limbs and all digits on each limb and all the organs were formed and working properly! It just shows that even healthy and ion the womb slap cheek can cause series problems.

I don't want to worry people and miscarriages due to slap cheek are very low but never ignore it! I caught it from my little brother and I was only with him for a few hours one day!

Thanks ladies x Rebekah
Just the other day