Trying to Conceive and STDs

[argenterie4.livejournal.com]

(I'm actually NOT Trying To Conceive (TTC) and I also don't have any STDs, but I've been curious/wondering about this for years and just thought I'd ask VP!)

So, what happens when two people want to have children, but one of them has a non-curable STD (Herpes, HPV, etc.) and the other one does NOT have it? How does TTC work in this circumstance? Or how did it work for you, if you have had this experience? I just am curious because generally people trying not to spread the STI would use condoms, but of course that would not allow pregnancy. :)

I always assumed people just went "ah, well!" and shrugged, and had unprotected sex, hoping for conception without transfer of the STI? Is that even close to correct?

Thanks VP!

Comments

[storychick.livejournal.com]

Some people choose assisted reproduction (IVF etc) in order to avoid transmitting to their partner.

[sprtwrid.livejournal.com]

turkey baster?

sorry nothing useful here :P

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

This is what I was gonna say. For those STDs that are transmitted via the skin and not the bodily fluids, turkey baster is a totally possible option.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I think for many or most couples, the viruses you mention are not necessarily a big concern.

For instance, with HPV -- almost everyone has genital HPV, and it almost never causes any symptoms. Males can't be tested, so in a heterosexual couple there would be no way to know if the male partner did or did not have it (statistics would indicate that if they'd been sexually active prior, they probably would have it), and at any rate, most strains of HPV basically don't effect men (they can, of course, get genital warts, which is more of an annoyance than anything).

So with HPV -- my guess is going to be that exceedingly few couples in a committed relationship use condoms with the intention of preventing the spread of HPV, especially since most people just don't know if they have it or not -- males can't know, and most women don't know, since HPV testing isn't standard for women under 30 and most women infected with HPV will never return an abnormal pap.

HSV may be slightly different and vary more on a couple-by-couple basis. For me personally, in a committed relationship, I would not use condoms to prevent HSV transmission if my partner had HSV. I'd want to abstain from genital contact during his outbreaks, but I think many people consider genital HSV to be not so big a deal that it requires consistent condom use at all times. I know a lot of people who feel the same way.

There are also suppressive medications that reduce the transmission rate significantly that a couple could use while TTC if they were intending to prevent HSV transmission between them.

[littlemissalien.livejournal.com]

Well I can do this from experience! I had HPV in 2003 which was treated, no further outbreaks. Many forms of HPV are cleared by the body in around 18 months or so (including warts and verrucas) without complications. My partner contracted HSV1 on his genitals from a girl who claimed it was 'just a mouth ulcer' rather than a cold sore. In the 5 years we've been together he's had 2 outbreaks and he had 2 before we were together, including the initial outbreak.

We have abstained from sex when he has an outbreak and I've never had any HPV issues since the initial outbreak, so we mostly have condomless sex (I have implanon). We successfully conceived in 2006 and had out son in 2007. I have never had an HSV outbreak and he's never had any warts. Our son is also the picture of health and has not contracted anything congenitally.