title: Possible association between maternal recurrent orofacial herpes in pregnancy and a lower rate of preterm birth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the possible association between orofacial herpes during pregnancy and pregnancy complications including preterm birth and low birth weight, since the results of previous studies are inconsistent.
  
  
  METHODS
  The population-based large data set of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance System of Congenital Abnormalities was used; pregnancies in mothers with and without recurrent orofacial herpes were compared. RESULTS. Of 38,151 newborn infants, 572 (1.5%) had mothers with recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy, while 37 577 had mothers with no orofacial herpes. Pregnant women with recurrent orofacial herpes had a higher prevalence of severe nausea and vomiting, threatened preterm delivery, and placental disorders but a lower prevalence of preeclampsia. Mothers with recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy also had a somewhat longer (0.4 weeks) gestation (adjusted t = 2.7; p = 0.006) and an obviously lower proportion of preterm births (3.5% vs. 9.3%; adjusted POR with 95% CI = 0.42, 0.27-0.65). However, there was no significant difference in the mean birth weight and rate of low birth weight infants between the two study groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy is associated with a smaller proportion of preterm births.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Semmelweis University, School of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bánhidy
authors.forename: Erzsébet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Puhó
authors.forename: Nándor
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Acs
authors.forename: Andrew E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Czeizel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D006560:Herpes Labialis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000503:physiopathology*; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012008:Recurrence; D013283:Stomatitis, Herpetic / Q000503:physiopathology*