Shingles during pregnancy?

I'm 35 weeks pregnant and just found out I have shingles. They put me on Valtrex for a week. Will the shingles cause any harm to the baby? Are they contagious? I have birthing classes this weekend and don't know if I should stay home or not because of the shingles. any advice?

Stay on the med and take it exactly when told. Don't put other mom's at risk by going to the class, even if your rash has scabbed over. You wouldn't appreciate it if you found one of them were in the infectious stage. There is some studies that suggest exposure to this real early in pregnancy can cause birth defects.

You are along at the right part of your pregnancy where your child may develop chickenpox (pediatric shingles) over the next five years, but it's rare.

This is so textbook and with the times given and you wanting to be around other mothers when infected, I suspect this question isn't for real. But I looked it up for you just in case when I saw no more answers.

-more-

If I sounded to harsh... no, your baby will be fine, even if he/she gets chickenpox from it (which is higly unlikely).

When you had chicken poxs it stayed in you system for years and it just poped up again and its called shingles. They are contagious only if someone else didnt have chicken poxs. Im not sure shingles will harm the baby. But, i think you should ask your doctor about it.

I'd call your doctor, but if I do remember correctly they are pretty contagious until you are treated or to someone who never had the chicken pox. But if you have birthing classes I'd ask your doctor about going. Ask him about the harm to your baby too, as well as your GYN.