Are you pregnant? Do you have genital warts? Many women are diagnosed with genital warts after they become pregnant or they became pregnant without thinking about the fact that they have genital warts, which is also known as the human papilloma virus, or HPV. Genital warts are very common; in fact 5.5 million new cases of the disease are diagnosed each year! With so many cases being diagnosed and as many as 20 million people infected in America alone, you can bet that there are a lot of women out there worrying about genital warts and pregnancy and how it will all play out.

Affects on Your Pregnancy

Though common, HPV would never be something that you would choose to have while pregnant. The reason for this is that they can cause some complications for the mother and the growing fetus during the pregnancy. Luckily, there are a number of treatments that will allow a doctor to treat the genital warts during pregnancy, though some of the medications cannot be used while pregnant.

The most common problem with genital warts and pregnancy is that the warts can grow during the pregnancy. Many times the warts get so big that they make it difficult for a woman to urinate, but in most cases these can be removed to restore function.

Another problem may occur if the genital warts are in the vagina. The genital warts may make the vagina tissue less elastic, making it more difficult to deliver the baby. In fact, there are cases where the genital warts cause an obstruction during delivery and the baby has to be delivered via c-section.

In rare cases, babies who are born to mothers with genital warts will develop the warts in their throats. This condition is known as laryngeal papillomatosis. This is a rare condition, but it must be mentioned because it can be a life threatening condition for the child. Many children who develop this condition have to have the warts removes via laser surgery as they can grow large enough to obstruct breathing.

Luckily, there is a lot of ongoing research in the field of genital warts. There is currently an HPV vaccine available; though once you have the disease it won’t do anything for you. The good thing is that genital warts and pregnancy can stop with current generations as future generations can be vaccinated against it, so they do not have to worry about their newborn children being affected by or even acquiring the disease from their mothers.