Women who are pregnant and those who have weakened immune systems should not be in contact with anyone who has chickenpox. If pregnant women who didn’t have chickenpox in childhood get the virus, especially during the first five months, the fetus is at risk for birth defects. If a woman breaks out with chickenpox within five days of delivery, or within two days after giving birth, the infant can contact the varicella-zoster virus, which is life-threatening at this stage. The virus will have definitely been passed through the blood from the mother. Within this time period the mother’s body hasn’t had time to produce antibodies and transfer them to her baby before birth.
If a pregnant woman suffered from chickenpox before she becomes pregnant, or more than a week before she gives birth, the antibodies that fight off the disease have been transferred to her baby through the placenta. The baby probably will not become contact the varicella-zoster virus because he is immune. If he does contact the virus, the case will be very mild and he probably won’t experience any adverse side effects. However, there are always those rare cases that don’t follow the norm.
Pregnant women who catch chickenpox for the first time are at increased risk for complications.
People of all ages who have never had chickenpox can contact it from a person suffering from shingles. Shingles are not contagious. Why? It’s because shingles are caused by a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus. One people who have had chickenpox can get shingles.
Incubation
Incubation is the time it takes for chickenpox to break out after exposure and it can be anywhere from ten to twenty one days. If your child breaks out with chickenpox after being exposed and his siblings have never had the disease, they can break out anytime within this time frame.
Duration
Childhood chickenpox usually lasts between seven and ten days; longer if the case is severe or suffered by adults, who generally become severely ill when an outbreak occurs.