No association between maternal recurrent genital herpes in pregnancy and higher risk for congenital abnormalities

Abstract

Objective. To study the possible links between recurrent symptomatic genital herpes during pregnancy and risk for congenital abnormalities (CAs). Method. The occurrence of prospectively and medically-recorded recurrent genital herpes during pregnancy in the mothers of cases with different congenital abnormalities and in the mothers of matched controls without CAs was compared in the population-based large data set of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance System of Congenital Abnormalities. Results. Of 22,843 cases with CAs, 59 (0.26%) were born to mothers with recurrent symptomatic genital herpes, while of 38,151 control newborns without CAs, 86 (0.23%) were born to mothers with recurrent genital herpes during the study pregnancy (adjusted OR: 1.1, 95% CI: 0.8-1.6). Pregnant women with clinically recognised recurrent genital herpes in the first trimester of pregnancy are not linked with a higher risk for any CAs. Conclusion. Recurrent genital herpes during pregnancy does not associate with a higher risk of CAs. © 2008 Taylor & Francis.