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what are the risk factors for CMV infection during pregnancy?

 Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that can be transmitted from an infected person to a developing baby during pregnancy. The risk of congenital CMV infection associated with primary maternal infection during pregnancy has been estimated to be between 30 and 40% 

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. However, primary CMV infection during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with more severe symptoms of congenital infection and worse neurological outcomes, compared to primary maternal CMV infection later in pregnancy
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.

Transmission

CMV spreads in several ways, including passing it to your baby during pregnancy, labor, birth, or nursing, and touching your eyes or the inside of your mouth or nose after direct contact with an infected person's body fluids, including saliva, urine, blood, tears, semen, and human milk
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.

Risk Factors

The following groups of women are at higher risk of contracting CMV during pregnancy:
  • Women who have young children or work in childcare centers
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    .
  • Women who have multiple sexual partners
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    .
  • Women who have a weakened immune system, such as those with HIV/AIDS or who have had an organ transplant
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    .

Symptoms

Most people with CMV infection have no symptoms and aren’t aware that they have been infected. CMV infection usually isn’t harmful in healthy adults or children because their immune system protects their bodies from infection. But CMV can cause serious health problems for some, including babies who get infected before birth, preterm babies, or low birthweight babies
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.

Diagnosis

It is not recommended that doctors routinely test pregnant women for CMV infection. This is because laboratory tests cannot predict which developing babies will become infected with CMV or have long-term health problems
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. However, sometimes a pregnant woman will need to be tested for CMV when an ultrasound catches abnormalities that could be caused by CMV or another infectious disease
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.In conclusion, pregnant women who have young children or work in childcare centers, have multiple sexual partners, or have a weakened immune system are at higher risk of contracting CMV during pregnancy. Primary CMV infection during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with more severe symptoms of congenital infection and worse neurological outcomes, compared to primary maternal CMV infection later in pregnancy. It is not recommended that doctors routinely test pregnant women for CMV infection, but sometimes a pregnant woman will need to be tested for CMV when an ultrasound catches abnormalities that could be caused by CMV or another infectious disease.

Citations:
[1] https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/planning-baby/cytomegalovirus-and-pregnancy
[2] https://www.cdc.gov/cmv/fact-sheets/parents-pregnant-women.html
[3] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cmv/symptoms-causes/syc-20355358
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8232530/
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK582519/
[6] https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/pregnancy-complications/cytomegalovirus-infection/
[7] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0252309
[8] https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/cytomegalovirus-cmv-during-pregnancy
[9] https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/cmv-in-pregnancy
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