Rubella During Pregnancy

By Poonam Sharma

Rubella has grave consequences for the unborn child. If the mother suffer from it during first 3 months of pregnancy it may cause deafness, blindness, and congenital heart disease and any other type of abnormality. Later in pregnancy the risk is much less, and could be restricted to deafness. The virus may also cause a miscarriage, low birth-weight baby or stillbirth. Doctor will advice for medical termination if you suffer from rubella during first 3 months of pregnancy.

If during pregnancy you have been in contact with any person who has measles or has recently had measles, or who developed measles within 2-3 days after seeing you, consult your doctor. A couple of blood tests done 2 weeks apart will help the doctor whether pregnancy should be continued or terminated.

Avoid relatives or anyone who has measles in the house. Stop going to your place of work if there is measles around.

If you are not sure whether you had rubella, a blood test for rubella antibodies will make it clear. If a blood test shows that you never had rubella, you can be immunized after your baby is born, to avoid worry in future. however, the inoculation should not be taken in pregnancy, and once taken in the non-pregnant state, conception should be avoided for next three months.