20-30% of women in the
reproductive age have had HSV infection (1).
The recurrence rate of
genital herpes increases during pregnancy, and greater with increasing
gestational age (1).
Of those women who have had
genital herpes, 25% will have a recurrence in the last month of pregnancy,
and 11%-14% will have an outbreak around the time of labor and delivery
(1).
If a women has a primary
episode of genital herpes during pregnancy, the recurrence risk during
labor increases to 35%.
REFERENCES
Scott LL, Hollier LM, Dias K.
Perinatal herpesvirus infection. Infect Dis Clin North Am
1997;11(1(:27-53.