Chicken Pox and Newborns

[mexmarr]

I am 36 weeks tomorrow, but having contractions and cervical change, so I probably won't make it too much longer.

My children were exposed to Chicken pox on Sunday.  I have had them, my kids have not.

I am getting mixed messaged as to whether baby will be immune.  Most say yes, as I am immune and baby will get that from me for the first few months.  Others say not immediately after birth, but will be after getting breast milk for a while.

It was recommend that I keep baby in a seperate room from all the other children till any risk is over, which could end up being 4-6 weeks or more, if they get it in rounds.  That would be a serious challenge as I will have 6 children 8 and under. 

What are your thoughts on the matter?

[lotsaboys]

I was 38 wks pg (in Dec) when my first, of 6 to get it, broke out with pox. From what I read and heard I too assumed that baby might get immunity from me before birth. She was born on a Thurs. evening and Sat. morning 4 of the kids broke out. There was NO way we could isolate baby so we went about life as normal. At exactly 2 weeks old, baby broke out with first spots. She ended up getting over 25 pox and ate and slept normally for most of the time. At around days 5-7 (the itchy stage) she was fussy and seemed uncomfortable from itching so we put caladryl lotion on her a few times which seemed to help a bit. It really wasn't a big deal for a newborn to get it in our experience. I think the worse that can happen is if they get it in the throat which makes it hard for them to swallow and breathe properly. So, don't let it bother you too much. We figured it was something out of our control so we prayed about it and tried not to worry. I did be sure to take immune boosters to strengthen baby's system.