Invasive Obstetric Procedures and Cesarean Sections in Women with Known Herpes Simplex Virus Status During Pregnancy

Abstract

This study explores the impact of a prenatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) screening program on use of intrapartum procedures that increase risk of neonatal herpes and intrapartum cesarean delivery in asymptomatic pregnant women with genital herpes infection. Logistic regression analyses were performed on data collected from a review of 750 deliveries at an academic medical center. After exclusions, 449 women with data on prenatal HSV status were identified, and 97 (21.6%) had evidence of genital HSV infection. Asymptomatic women with genital HSV infection on antiviral suppressive therapy were less likely to undergo intrapartum procedures compared with women without genital HSV infection in a bivariate model, although the effect was attenuated and became non-significant on multivariate analysis. Asymptomatic women with genital HSV infection were no more likely than uninfected women to undergo intrapartum cesarean section.