Exposre to Mumps: What would you do?

[cynotgirl]

There is a chance that a friend from playgroup has been exposed to mumps, and may be infected. We have not played with him since then.

Elliette is now 18 months, and I am 7 months pregnant. Would now be a good time, or a not so good time to try and expose her to mumps, if the little boy is infected?

Any input is appreciated, I'm nervous about it because she is young, and because I am pregnant. Thanks!!!!

[tiffer23]

Despite the fact that we don't vax, I still don't knowingly expose my son to things. I don't want him to have mumps! Or most other things. *shrug* So personally, I would avoid them until they knew for sure he did or didn't have them and he got over them.

[mamakay]

That's actually a good age to have mumps. mumps isn't a threat to pregnant women, although unless you had natural mumps, you might catch it yourself. Which might be even more uncomfortable in pregnancy, but not particularly dangerous.

[bri276]

I would welcome it. it doesn't even make it on the list of "scary diseases" for me. & I'd prefer dd to have it at this age than when she's a senior citizen.

mamakay- if the OP did contract mumps while pg, would baby get some immunities? that would be a nice benefit, even if temporary

[mamakay]

Yeah, if nothing else, mom's breastmilk will have some powerful anti-mumps antibodies for a while. Most babies are just "immune" for the first year of life, anyway, though.

[Spy]

I wouldn't do anything. Neither avoid them nor seek contact specifically for exposure purposes. The chances of infection are rather slim under the circumstances and if you do get it, it's not dangerous, in fact, you may have already gotten it from elsewhere and be immune.

[Crisstiana]

The risks of contracting mumps at 7 mo of pregnancy are thought to be low. There is some association between maternal mumps in the first 3-4 months and miscarriage. There is a concern raised in a study that there is a connection between maternal mumps in pregnancy and a heart problem in the fetus (endocardial fibroelastosis), but other studies have not duplicated this finding. There is also a possible connection between maternal exposure and neonatal respiratory problems. Again, this isn't conclusive.

[2busy2clean]

When my youngest caught it (every time he teethed on a shopping cart he would catch something...) he was unhappy for a week, and of course, he exposed the whole family to it. Of the 4 of us, he was the only one who showed signs of mumps, the rest of us all had one evening of being tired and achy and would go to bed early, but by morning the mumps had been shaken off and we were all good to go again. So exposure doesn't mean you will have swollen cheeks and look goofy. =)
Besides, better to have it now then in 2 months, eh?

[LongIsland]

Originally Posted by 2busy2clean

Of the 4 of us, he was the only one who showed signs of mumps, the rest of us all had one evening of being tired and achy and would go to bed early, but by morning the mumps had been shaken off and we were all good to go again. So exposure doesn't mean you will have swollen cheeks and look goofy. =)

In fact, according to the CDC, parotitis ("chipmunk cheeks") occurs in only 30%–40% of infected persons AND as many as 20% of mumps infections are asymptomatic AND an additional 40%–50% may have only nonspecific or primarily respiratory symptoms.

[Plummeting]

This is the perfect time for your kiddo! Mumps is usually asymptomatic in kids under age 2, so I'd definitely go for it. My dd was accidentally exposed twice before age 2 (guess it's not really that uncommon) and did not develop symptoms either time. The second time she was about 20 months of age, IIRC and she developed a tiny bit of a runny nose a while later, so maybe it was mumps, maybe she was already immune from the first exposure or maybe she's still not caught it. We have no idea, but if given another opportunity, I'd expose my dd again just to be sure.

[ltk]

doesn't the mumps cause sterility in boys? I guess my ped was wrong. Does someone know?

[mamakay]

Originally Posted by ltk

doesn't the mumps cause sterility in boys? I guess my ped was wrong. Does someone know?

It's only possible after puberty. And even then, it's very, very, very rare.