If you have vaginal warts (HPV – Human Papillomavirus) and are considering pregnancy, you are probably wondering how it could affect your baby.

During pregnancy the immune system can become suppressed, and as a result, HPV symptoms can worsen during, because the immune system protects you from viruses and infections. When it is suppressed, vaginal warts associated with the HPV virus can grow faster and become quite large. They can grow much quicker and larger during pregnancy due to the extra vaginal moisture that is present along with the hormonal changes of pregnancy.


Discovering you have Vaginal Warts during Pregnancy

Many women are unaware they have the virus until pregnancy brings on symptoms. There have been eom cases reported in which genital warts grow so large they block the birth canal. There is also a concern that warts will tear and bleed during labour. Some physicians opt to perform caesarian sections on women who have genital warts, even if there are no large warts or the risk of excessive bleeding during birth. However,experts disagree about the value of a Caesarean section in trying to prevent HPV transmission from mother to newborn baby. Some say it could offer some protection against HPV for the baby, but because babies rarely get HPV during childbirth — and can clear the infection on their own — the risks of surgery don’t outweigh the possible benefit, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Most of the time,vaginal or genital warts won’t pose any problems for you or your baby. It is possible for you to pass the virus to your baby, but this doesn’t happen very often. Only 2 out of some 30 known strains of HPV are contagious. Even if your baby becomes infected with HPV, genital wart symptoms in children can be dormant for a period of up to three years after birth. However, many thousands of women infected with the HPV virus, even those with active genital warts during pregnancy and birth, have given birth to babies who are born completely free of the disease. Even if your child does contract HPV, he’s likely to overcome it on his own without any symptoms or problems.

In very rare cases, a baby born to a woman who has genital warts will develop warts in the throat. This serious condition is called respiratory papillomatosis and requires frequent laser surgery to prevent the warts from blocking the baby’s breathing passages.

Most of the time, a baby born to a woman with genital warts does not have HPV related complications. Even if the mother has a type of HPV virus that has caused cervical cancer, the baby can be delivered safely.


HPV testing during pregnancy

Pregnant mothers are not routinely tested for HPV. Most women only discover that they have the virus if they develop genital warts or have an abnormal Pap smear. There is a test that can detect the most common types of high-risk HPV, and some practitioners do it in conjunction with a Pap smear on women age 30 and older. However, you may have this test at any age, in certain circumstances — for example, if your Pap smear shows mildly abnormal changes and your practitioner needs to determine whether further follow-up is necessary.


Genital Warts Treatment During Pregnancy

There’s no drug that can get rid of the virus. Treatments simply eliminate the symptoms. If you are pregnant and have vaginal warts, your treatment options will be different than they would be if you weren’t pregnant.

Pregnant women should not apply any over-the-counter treatments to the warts without consulting with a doctor. Most over-the-counter medications for genital warts are salicylic acid-based. This can make them harmful for the unborn baby. Some prescription medications, as well, can cause birth defects because their chemical contents can be absorbed through the skin.

There are various treatments, however, that can be used to remove the warts safely during pregnancy. If your practitioner decides removal is necessary, she may use a special acid solution, freeze them off with a liquid nitrogen solution, or remove them by laser, electrocautery, or surgically. The drawback is that these treatments can be embarrassing, invasive, painful and can cause scarring. There are many natural products available which can help with vaginal warts and which do not contain harmful ingredients.

If your Pap smear is abnormal, your doctor may examine your cervix and vagina with a special microscope in a procedure called colposcopy. If there are any suspicious changes in your cells, a biopsy of the tissue, may be taken.

If there’s no evidence of invasive cancer, treatment will probably be delayed until after the birth. You will usually have another colposcopy about six to eight weeks after you give birth to see if the problem persists. In many cases, the abnormal changes go away on their own after delivery, and no further treatment will be needed.


How can I avoid getting HPV?

You can reduce your chances of getting HPV by having sex only with a monogamous and who does not have any obvious warts. The more sexual partners you or your partner have, the more likely you are to contract the virus. And even if you already have (or have had) HPV, being infected with one strain of the virus doesn’t protect you from other strains.

Using condoms correctly and consistently also greatly reduces the risk of contracting HPV and many other STIs. However, condoms don’t provide total protection because the virus may be present in areas that aren’t covered by the condom, and a condom can slip or break.

Filed under: HPV Warts

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