Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (Coxsackievirus) Exposure During Pregnancy: Risks and Concerns

Question
A friend of mine and her daughter was over on June 18th.She told me now that her youngest daughter had cocksackie a couple weeks ago,she then thinks she caught it from the daughter who had a mild case of it right before that.i was about 30 weeks pregnant then and she was over for 2 hours.I dont even know if she had it b/c the mom says she "thinks" she had it but missed the signs.if she did have it for some reason is this bad?i had no contact with her but she was in my home.

Jen

Answer
If you have had no signs of any disease, I doubt that you contracted the coxsackie virus. HOwever, there is no way for me to know based on your description. It is highly unlikely that you were infected. If you did not contract the virus, your baby will not contract the virus. If you have any doubts, have your obstetrician perform some serologic studies to see if you have contracted the coxsackie virus. If you did, your baby will be checked out at birth. There is nothing to do at this time.