Rubella effects on baby

Will rubella affect an unborn baby? What are the long term effects of rubella? Is my baby at risk of rubella infection? What immunizations cannot be given during pregnancy?

Congenital rubella can have very serious implications for an unborn baby.

Pregnant women who contract rubella are at risk for miscarriage or stillbirth, and their developing babies are at risk for severe birth defects with devastating, lifelong consequences. Fetal rubella effects : The constellation of abnormalities, also called the rubella syndrome, caused by infection with the rubella (German measles) A virus before birth. The syndrome is characterized by multiple congenital malformations (birth defects) and mental retardation.

The rate of CRS for a baby whose mother is infected between and weeks is about percent, and the rate continues to go down sharply from there. Why should my child get the rubella shot? Protects your child from rubella, a potentially serious disease, as well as measles and mumps.

Prevents your child from spreading rubella to a pregnant woman whose unborn baby could develop serious birth defects or die if the mother gets rubella.

Plus, tips for treatment and prevention of rubella and other baby health conditions at TheBump. Because rubella is rare, your doctor needs to report any cases to the local public health department. Plus, rubella is easily confused with other illnesses such as measles and scarlet fever, so the doctor will probably want to examine your baby and take blood samples to confirm the diagnosis.

However, the primary symptom of rubella virus infection is the appearance of a rash (exanthem) on the face which spreads to the trunk and limbs and usually fades after three days (that is why it is often referred to as three-day measles). If a woman gets rubella during pregnancy, the virus can pass to the baby and cause certain birth defects. This is called congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). A baby is more likely to be affected by CRS if the mother gets rubella during the first trimester of pregnancy, although infection any time in pregnancy carries a chance of CRS. It is caused by the rubella virus (not the same virus that causes measles).

If infection occurs 0–days before conception, the infant has a risk of being affected. Rubella is very rare in pregnancy. It is less serious than red measles, except in pregnant women.

It’s important to get treatment. Contracting rubella between the 17th and 20th weeks of pregnancy creates a high likelihood that the baby will be born deaf. In scientific term, when there is rubella infection in pregnancy, the baby comes at a risk to develop congenital rubella syndrome (CRS).

Effects or symptoms of CRS are a bit dangerous and risky.

A most common symptom of CRS is hearing loss. The risk of passing rubella to your baby is at its highest in the first weeks of pregnancy. These diseases can easily spread from person to person through the air.

Before the development of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, these diseases were very common. Acquiring rubella (German measles) during pregnancy can cause miscarriage and other major problems, so women are encouraged to stay up to date on MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella ) vaccinations as a way to decrease the risks. The baby will have congenital rubella. If the fetus gets rubella during the first weeks of pregnancy, the baby will likely be born with many life-long problems.

In most people who catch the virus, its effects are mild (especially in children). They typically last about one to five days. People who have rubella often have a rash on their body and may suffer from a fever and other symptoms of a viral illness. Our Meruvax II ( rubella virus) Vaccine Live Side Effects Drug Center provides a comprehensive view of available drug information on the potential side effects when taking this medication.

A rubella infection is mild for most people, but it can have catastrophic consequences for an unborn baby. Do not receive this vaccine while you are breast-feeding a baby. If a pregnant woman contracts rubella , her baby is at risk of severe and permanent birth defects or death. Small amounts of the rubella virus contained in the vaccine can pass into breast milk and could harm a nursing baby. However, rubella is still common in many developing countries.

National uptake of antenatal screening for rubella susceptibility fell slightly from 98. After the fourth month, if the mother has a rubella infection, it is less likely to harm the developing baby. The number of babies born with this condition is much smaller since the rubella vaccine was developed.

Full text Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (539K), or click on a page image below to browse page by page.