QUICK VIEW
- According to some research, up to 86 percent of women of childbearing age have had CMV at some point in their life.
- Contracting the virus when pregnant, on the other hand, can be harmful to the growing fetus and result in long-term consequences such as hearing loss and developmental problems.
- CMV is such a tough virus to negotiate in the obstetric world.
- CMV is so common because it can be contracted through various routes, including saliva, urine, blood, sperm, breast milk, and even tears, but doctors do not frequently screen for it.
- According to Dr. Aziz, for a screening test to be clinically useful, the disease must be both prevalent and treatable.
If the previous year and a half have taught us anything, it’s that we’ve almost certainly never been sufficiently aware of infectious diseases. This is why, now that I’m a pediatrician and the mother of two small children, I wince when I think back to birthday celebrations when snotty 3-year-olds blew out candles (sharing a lot more than just their cake).
While many individuals are more conscious of germs these days, in my profession of obstetrics and gynecology, increased knowledge of infections during pregnancy is nothing new.
For example, while it’s now general knowledge that viruses like the flu can cause worse outcomes in pregnant women, most patients are unfamiliar with another extremely common virus called cytomegalovirus, or CMV. This is likely because CMV feels like a nasty cold or nothing at all if you’re not pregnant, and it’s very common. It’s significantly more common than the more well-known Zika virus, which belongs to the CMV family as well. According to some research, up to 86 percent of women of childbearing age have had CMV at some point in their life.
Contracting the virus when pregnant, on the other hand, can be harmful to the growing fetus and result in long-term consequences such as hearing loss and developmental problems. The good news is that, while CMV is the most prevalent congenital viral infection in the United States, it’s still uncommon for a fetus to get it and become symptomatic, with just about 3% of pregnant women having it for the first time during pregnancy.
READ ALSO: What Is Pregnancy Insomnia And How to Treat It
“CMV is such a tough virus to negotiate in the obstetric world,” explains Natalie Aziz, MD, a specialist in reproductive infectious disease and an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University. “The issue is that it is so common and easily transmitted, but there is no conventional treatment to prevent it from spreading during pregnancy. We don’t know how to prevent or treat it well.”
CMV is so common because it can be contracted through various routes, including saliva, urine, blood, sperm, breast milk, and even tears, but doctors do not frequently screen for it. According to Dr. Aziz, for a screening test to be clinically useful, the disease must be both prevalent and treatable. The issue with CMV is that while the first statement is correct, the second is not.
In actuality, only a small percentage of pregnant women are tested for CMV. This includes people who have been exposed to the virus (for example, through a daycare epidemic), people who have unexplained flu-like symptoms, and people who have specific concerning fetal ultrasound findings, such as extra fluid around the heart and gut and brain abnormalities.
On the other hand, information is power, and simply being aware of a potentially deadly illness during pregnancy may cause you to take extra care in terms of hygiene. According to the National CMV Foundation, washing your hands thoroughly for at least 15 to 20 seconds and avoiding any activity where saliva can be shared are minor but effective prophylactic techniques.
If you’re pregnant or trying to conceive right now, chances are you’re already doing everything you can to keep healthy. Even while “the danger of getting CMV and transmission to the foetus is relatively minimal,” Vita Berger, MD, assistant professor of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, feels that’s the proper approach. So, if you’re pregnant or hoping to become pregnant, what should you do? It could be as simple as a quick question to your OB.
By Dr. Jennifer Conti
