Fifth Disease! Should I be worried? (xposted)

[Individuation]

I just found out that my daughter may have contracted Fifth Disease at school--she seems to have just broken out in the rash. Can this affect the fetus at this point of pregnancy (37 weeks)? I've called my MW and left her a message, but I'm curious if anyone has dealt with this...

[memiles]

I actually had a confirmed case of Fifths at 16ish weeks. What I learned after freaking out briefly.....

Almost all adults of our generation are immune, having had it as children (yes, my family must have lived in some kind of bubble, because I caught it from my adult sister, who caught it from a child at work). So, chances are, you are already immune. Even if you never had the rash, chances are you were exposed as a child and developed the antibodies.

The danger for pregnant women is to a developing fetus. It raises the risk of miscarriage. There is also a chance that the baby will develop a specific type of anemia, but I'm not sure if that is only for early pregnancy.

My midwife was comfortable with a homebirth. The plan was to take the baby to the doctor at about 24 hours (we had cleared this with our family practice DO ahead of time) for the blood test to check for the anemia. She was healthy as can be.

Hopefully this late in pregnancy, your midwife will be able to tell you it's not an issue, and you can go back to enjoying the last bit of your pregnancy.

[pamamidwife]

Megan is right on - and the biggest risk to babies (should you never have had it, which is unlikely) is in the first 20 weeks.

[AutumnLeaves5]

My son got this during my current pregnancy and they were able to test if I had already been exposed, and I had, so it was not to worry. If your daughter is school age, my understanding is that it's very, very likely you've already been exposed...you could ask about the test if you are worried. It was a simple blood test. I felt more comfortable knowing.