my wife is pregnant, and when we were at the doctor yesterday she was told she has HPV. Now, i understood this to be something that naturally occurs in a mans body that can be passed onto women and most men dont know they have it, and most women dont know either. But, upon further investigation, i learned that HPV is actually genital warts. I dont think my wife is unfaithful, and she claims that the only people she has been intimate with is myself, and her ex. THe Doc says that this is a normal occurence during pregnancy and not to worry. She has two lesions on her thigh. However, he also said that she should not go calling or accusing people and that i probably already have it, wether i gave it to her or not. This is very disturbing to her and she was crying. Maybe someone can clear this issue up for us.....

Found this information on the web... hope it helps answer some of your questions.


How common is HPV?

In the United States, HPV is considered to be the most common sexually transmitted disease (STD). Some studies estimate that the majority of the sexually active population is exposed to at least one or more types of HPV - although most do not develop symptoms. Because HPV is so common and prevalent, a person does not need have to have a lot of sexual partners to come into contact with this virus.

HPV: Get the Facts
External Genital Warts
What are the symptoms of genital warts? How can a person find out if they have genital warts?
What do warts look like? How can a person reduce the risk of getting genital warts?
Where can genital warts appear? How are genital warts treated?
How often can genital warts appear? What about pregnancy and genital warts?
How can a person get genital warts? Is it normal to feel upset about genital warts?

What are the symptoms of genital warts?
Only certain types of HPV cause genital warts. Other types, not related to genital warts, can cause abnormal cell changes on the genital skin, usually on a female's cervix.

What do warts look like?
Genital warts appear as growths or bumps. Warts may be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large. They tend to be flesh-colored or whitish in appearance. Warts usually do not cause itching or burning.

Sometimes genital warts are so small that they can not be seen with the naked eye. This is sometimes called "subclinical HPV." Therefore, a person may not even know he or she has the type or types of HPV that cause genital warts.

The types of HPV that cause raised external genital warts are not linked with cancer. These types are usually harmless.


How can a person get genital warts?
Any person who is sexually active can get genital warts.

The types of HPV that cause genital warts are usually spread by direct skin-to-skin contact during vaginal, anal or (rarely) oral sex with someone who has this infection.

Genital warts are most likely to be transmitted when symptoms (warts) are actually present, but sometimes warts are too small to see with the naked eye (subclinical HPV).

Very little is known about passing subclinical HPV to sex partners. Some experts think it may be less contagious than genital warts you can see.

The types of HPV that cause genital warts do not usually seem to cause warts on other body parts such as the hands.

Warts on other parts of the body, such as the hands, are caused by different types of HPV. People do not get genital warts by touching warts on their hands or feet.

Warts are not commonly found in the mouth, so some experts believe that transmission through oral sex is not likely.

How often can episodes of genital warts occur?

Some people only have one episode, while others have recurrences When warts are present, the virus is considered active When warts are gone, the virus is latent (sleeping) in the skin cells - it may or may not be contagious at this time

Genital warts may or may not return after the first episode

A healthy immune system helps fight the virus
Warts may appear within several weeks after sex with someone who has the wart-types of HPV, or it may take several months or years to appear. Or, warts may never appear. This makes it hard to know exactly when or from whom someone got the virus.

What about pregnancy and genital warts?

Most pregnant women who have had genital warts previously but no longer do would be unlikely to have any complications or problems during pregnancy or birth.

Most children are born healthy to women with a history of genital warts.

Because of hormone changes in the body during pregnancy, warts can grow in size and number, bleed, or, in extremely rare cases, make delivery harder.

Very rarely, babies exposed to the wart-types of HPV during birth may develop growths in the throat.

Despite this risk, a woman with genital warts does not need to have a cesarean-section delivery unless warts are blocking the birth canal. This is because the risk of a cesarean section is greater than the very rare risk to the baby of getting warts.

It is important that a pregnant woman notify her doctor or clinic if she or her partner(s) has had genital warts. This way they can determine if they need to treat the warts or not during the pregnancy

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">THe Doc says that this is a normal occurence during pregnancy and not to worry.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Hmmm...not sure why he said this other than to calm her down. HPV is very common but it is very definitely a STD. There is no reason to suspect your wife has been unfaithful. It's possible to carry HPV with no symptoms for several years, so she could have gotten them from her x. If you've had sexual contact (penetration isn't necessary) with another woman, you could very well be the one that gave it her. Men usually don't show symptoms and it spreads very easily. Condoms do not prevent the spread of HPV as any skin contact in the area of the genitals can result in transmission.

Just run a few searches on the Internet for HPV. There is tons of info out there.
Don't worry. She'll be fine. You'll probably never show symptoms. Just educate yourself. Depending on the type, HPV lesions can result in cervical cancer. She'll probably need more frequent pap smears (yay) just to keep an eye on things.

Take care,
Smile

I, too, am puzzled by what your doctor said because I thought it was only transmitted sexually. But from what I also understand, like Smile said, it can often not have symptoms (or when it does, the person doesn't realize it's an STD).

<small>[ June 12, 2004, 05:20 AM: Message edited by: LoveMyEx ]</small>