# Has anyone actually HAD hand foot and mouth while pregnant?



## purplestraws (Sep 13, 2006)

My littlest one had a couple of random blisters on his hands at the beginning of the week. No fever, no fussiness, just 2 or 3 weird blisters. I contacted my dad (a family NP) and he said he probably just got into something that he was sensitive to...nothing to worry about. I thought for brief moment that it might be HFMD, but with no fever, mouth sores, etc...I wasn't concerned.

Well, yesterday afternoon I noticed that I had a few random red bumps on my hands that stung just a little bit. Then they started cropping up on the bottom of my feet. Same with my oldest boy. No fever or anything like that...just the kind of annoying bumps on my hand.

I'm 100% sure it's HFMD and I'm FREAKING out. I'm 9 1/2 weeks pregnant right now and while MOST things I've read said that it's extremely rare for HFM to affect a fetus, that there is still a possibility of miscarriage and deformities.

Has anyone actually HAD HFMD while they were pregnant? Not just exposed to it?


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## hollytheteacher (Mar 10, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *purplestraws* 
My littlest one had a couple of random blisters on his hands at the beginning of the week. No fever, no fussiness, just 2 or 3 weird blisters. I contacted my dad (a family NP) and he said he probably just got into something that he was sensitive to...nothing to worry about. I thought for brief moment that it might be HFMD, but with no fever, mouth sores, etc...I wasn't concerned.

Well, yesterday afternoon I noticed that I had a few random red bumps on my hands that stung just a little bit. Then they started cropping up on the bottom of my feet. Same with my oldest boy. No fever or anything like that...just the kind of annoying bumps on my hand.

I'm 100% sure it's HFMD and I'm FREAKING out. I'm 9 1/2 weeks pregnant right now and while MOST things I've read said that it's extremely rare for HFM to affect a fetus, that there is still a possibility of miscarriage and deformities.

Has anyone actually HAD HFMD while they were pregnant? Not just exposed to it?

My son just had it. His ped said it was basically impossible for an adult to catch it because 99.9% of people get it before they are five years old. She also said the only time it is a worry to pregnant women would be IF they have WHILE delivering. She got her info from the CDC (even called them to double check) and they said there is no concern whatsoever in the first or second trimester and that again virtually no adults will get HFMD.


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## purplestraws (Sep 13, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hollytheteacher* 
My son just had it. His ped said it was basically impossible for an adult to catch it because 99.9% of people get it before they are five years old. She also said the only time it is a worry to pregnant women would be IF they have WHILE delivering. She got her info from the CDC (even called them to double check) and they said there is no concern whatsoever in the first or second trimester and that again virtually no adults will get HFMD.

Well, I definitely have it...so I guess I'm a weirdo (I have also come across many stories of adults getting it when their children had it)...BUT, your info was reassuring! I talked to the on-call OB at my office and she said the only real concern would be if I developed a very high fever, otherwise Coxsackie is just a standard virus and we should be fine. She was more concerned that it might be chicken pox, but it is most definitely not that!


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## new2texas (Apr 20, 2009)

Well, adults can absolutely contract it because I had it about 2 months ago. Sore throat, mouth sores, fever, spots on hands and feet, the whole nine yards. So I must not have ever had it as a child because I had no immunity.


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## [email protected] (Sep 7, 2010)

Even though we often hear that it is rare for an adult to acquire, I also first acquired it about 3 years ago when my son was 2 (there was an outbreak @ this daycare). Maybe b/c I now live on the West Coast but grew up on the East Coast, where the virus could differ a bit, I don't know. But adults can get this. It sounds like the OP has it.
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Edit:
OK, just read on the CDC website that HFMD can be caused by multiple viruses, so having immunity to one doesn't mean that there is immunity to another. Also, the site verifies that the greatest risk to the fetus is in acquiring this disease shortly before delivery:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/...us/hfmd-qa.htm


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## Lyss (Sep 15, 2006)

Our pediatrician told us two years ago that there are TWENTY-SIX different strains. I had it three times after DS was born, when DD and DS went to daycare.

Coxsackie isn't on the list. It's Fifths disease (parvovirus) that causes the red cheeks that is dangerous while pregnant.

Also chicken pox. Which I had when I was in 5th grade, but I had my titers drawn 6 years ago, and I have no immunity to it.


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## HippieMamaBE (Oct 5, 2005)

I did! My kids had it this summer, and then I developed it. I had the spots on my hands and feet, but no high fever. It was early in my pregnancy, and the OB office treated it like it was not a big deal.


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## KempsMama (Dec 1, 2008)

I haven't had it while pregnant, but I did just have a bad case of it last month.

While I was pregnant my oldest had it, and my OB wasn't concerned at all. Your posts are the first time I've ever heard of possible complications to the baby.

According to the information I've found, the only real risk is if the mother is sick near the time of delivery, in which case the infant may develop an infection that could become severe. But the source I found stated there is no link between adverse affects of pregnancy and the virus. (According to the CDC.)

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/.../hfmd-qa.htm#8


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## New_Natural_Mom (Dec 21, 2007)

Didn't have it while pregnant, but I had it this summer and it sucked.


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## teeg1973 (Oct 15, 2008)

I had it sometime in the early second trimester, I think.....I even forgot to mention it to my doctor - oops!. I just had the blisters on my hands and feet. Doesn't appear to have done any damage that I can tell.

Wishing you the best.

Tracy


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## kittywitty (Jul 5, 2005)

Only Coxsackie B virus can cause huge issues. If you're worried, test for it, but it's very unlikely. I did get HFM while pg with ds and another strand with this baby. Not B, though. There are several recent threads on here you can search for to find more info.


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