Rubella During Pregnancy
Contents:
- Symptoms and the Course of the Disease
- The Peculiarities of Rubella During the Course of Pregnancy
- The Treatment of Rubella
- The Consequences of Rubella in Case of a Pregnant Woman
- Supervising Pregnant Woman that Have Rubell
- Rubella Vaccination
- Contraindication to Rubella Vaccination
Rubella in Pregnancy
Rubella is a viral infection that is spread via air. It’s quite possible to catch the disease no matter how old you are. However, according to the medical statistics, in the majority of cases, people catch this disease in the childhood. Once a person recovers, he becomes immune to this disease till the end of his life. Actually, apart from the symptoms that are not so pleasant, there is nothing dangerous about the disease. It should also be mentioned that in early childhood the symptoms that occur are very light. In case an adult person catches the disease, the symptoms will be harder to bear. In case of pregnant women, this disease may be fatal.
Symptoms and the Course of the Disease
As we mentioned it before, there is a significant difference in the course of the disease in case of adults and children.
Adults usually have the following symptoms:
- a significant increase of temperature (from 38 °C and higher);
- an eruption of red colour on skin;
- a strong weakness and indisposition;
- lymphatic nodes become bigger;
- a strong headache;
- loss of appetite. In some cases, there may be nausea;
- the diseases of upper respiratory tract start to develop (cough, running nose, pains in the throat);
- rather strong painful sensations in the joints;
- in some cases, conjunctivitis may develop.
The development of such a disease like rubella includes several stages: incubation period (lasts for 16-18 days); the peak of the disease (from 5 to 7 days); the period of recovery (from 3 to 7 days). We are really sorry to say it but the majority of symptoms occurring on the second stage are neither possible to get rid of completely nor possible to soothe with the help of drugs.
The Peculiarities of Rubella During the Course of Pregnancy
If a pregnant woman catches rubella, she suffers from all the symptoms mentioned above. The most dangerous thing here is that the virus hits the developing organism of a future baby very quickly. If the disease occurs during the first trimester, in many cases there is either a miscarriage or a missed abortion. If the baby in the organism of a mother manages to survive and goes on living, then, there is practically 90 % guarantee that the baby will have serious health problems.
The majority of such like babies has a classic triad syndrome. This triad is the abnormalities in the development. Such like babies are born with cataract, deafness and cardiac anomaly all at once. Besides, rubella may affect the CNS of the baby, may be the reason for the development of hemorrhagic syndrome and significant disorder in the functioning of the cerebrum. Such cases, when, apart from the diseases of the inner organs, rubella causes the development of various deformities are also not rare. If a woman gets ill with rubella on the late stage of pregnancy, there is a significantly decreased possibility of the baby having various diseases because of it.
The Treatment of Rubella
Actually, rubella can be considered to be one of those diseases that a person can simply bear with. In modern medicine, there isn’t any special way to treat this disease. All the recommendations a doctor gives in case the disease occurs are meant to ease the symptoms.
The most popular recommendations include:
- give an ill person the possibility to have a profound rest;
- an ill person should take antipyretics;
- an ill person should take pills that boost immune system;
- an ill person should drink a lot of water, etc.
If there is a rubella diagnosed in case of a pregnant woman, all these measures won’t help the baby. The baby will get infected anyway.
The Consequences of Rubella in Case of a Pregnant Woman
Absolutely all women who catch the disease during the first 8-10 weeks are recommended having an abortion. Of course, a doctor won’t be able to make the woman do it. It is up to the woman to decide whether or not to get rid of the baby. The doctors tell the future mother about the diseases that will occur after the baby is born. If a woman catches the disease in the second trimester, the fetus is examined in a more detailed way.
In case if the doctors confirm that the baby has already been infected and there are certain significant abnormalities in his/her development, the woman is also recommended having an abortion. If a woman catches the disease on the late stage of pregnancy, she won’t be recommended terminating pregnancy. The doctors will keep a more watchful eye on her. The woman will have to visit her doctor more often and undergo procedures that allow to see and keep under control the condition of the baby more often.
Supervising Pregnant Woman that Have Rubella
When, due to certain conditions, a pregnant woman gets ill with rubella but there is no termination of the pregnancy, the only thing doctors can do is prescribing a complex of drugs that will support the health of the baby and prescribe immune-boosting drugs for the mother. The supervision of such a woman and the process of labor is not different from a usual case of pregnancy.
Rubella Vaccination
Rubella is a disease that is better to have in childhood so that, then, to forget about it forever and ever. This is the reason why many parents take their children and go together with them to their relatives or friends if they know that a child of their relatives or friends has rubella. If a woman of a child-bearing age is planning to get pregnant but she’s not yet immune to rubella, she needs to undergo the procedure of rubella vaccination. She needs to do it at least 3 months before the planned conceiving.
Contraindication to Rubella Vaccination
There are several factors because of which rubella vaccination may be delayed or not carried out at all.
They are:
- an increased temperature;
- individual intolerance;
- pregnancy;
- diseases of the immune system.