Mumps is a viral infection that affects the parotid glands, which produce saliva and are found in the neck. The virus is a member of the paramyxovirus family.
Symptoms take about twelve to twenty eight days after infection before they become apparent. About fifteen to twenty percent (5 - 6 in 100) people experience no symptoms after contracting a mumps infection. Those that do get fever, headache, swollen and tender glands, and a dull ache around the neck and jaw. Some people also experience abdominal or back pain and lose their appetites.
Mumps is rarely contracted in adulthood, but if it is, the ovariesPart of the female reproductive system, it is one of a pair of female gonads located on each side of the lower abdomen. Similar in size and shape to an almond, at ovulation an egg is extruded from a follicle on the ovary's surface. The mature follicle secretes both estrogen and progesterone to regulate the menstrual cycle.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. or testicles may become inflamed. This condition is called oophoritis in women and orchitis in men. It is rumored to cause infertility in men, but this is very rare. Also rare is a complication involving a brain infection called meningoencephalitis, but most people recover fully without special treatment. In very few instances there can be hearing loss.
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Mumps is transmitted by infected people coughing and sneezing or contaminating items such as drinking glasses or tissues. The contagious period lasts from one or two days before the symptoms first appear to four days after. Usually children between the ages of five and fifteen are infected, and after having the disease are immune, but adults who have not developed immunity have been known to contract the infection.
Since the beginning of universal vaccination for mumps in 1977, the infection is now very rare. Women born since 1977 have probably been vaccinated and have nothing to fear during their pregnancy. The risk of contracting mumps by those who have never been vaccinated is very low.
If mumps is contracted during pregnancy there is a very slight increase in the incidence of miscarriage during the first trimester. While studies have shown that the virus is capable of infecting the placentaThe placenta is a large disk shaped membrane responsible for providing nourishment to the fetus during pregnancy. It consists of three parts, the fetal part made up from the chorion membrane surrounding the fetus, the maternal part, formed from the decidua basalis layer of the uterine lining, and the intervillous space between the two plates. It is connected to the fetus by the umbilical cord and consists of tissue from both the mother and the embryo.
Its function is complex. It has been described as a simple organ that combines the functions of a kidney-dialysis machine, heart and lung machine and intravenous drip. It consists of enormous numbers of blood vessel branches that permit the exchange of nutrition and oxygen, from the mother's bloodstream to the fetus and the removal of wastes to the mother to be excreted. The placenta's remarkable quality is that it does so without the blood of the mother mixing with that of the baby.
It also is responsible for the production of vital hormones including, estrogen, progesterone, and human chorionic gonadotropin. After birth, the placenta is delivered, and is sometimes referred to as the afterbirth.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. and fetus, there is no evidence to demonstrate a link between gestational mumps and congenital abnormalitiesAny abnormality which is present at birth. Also called birth defects, they can arise from genetic inheritance or acquired during gestation through disease or drugs.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions.. There is a possible link between intrauterine mumps and endocrinal fibroelastosis.
If the mother is immune to the mumps virus, as most mothers are, the baby will gain temporary immunity during the first twelve to eighteen months as her antibodiesA protein immunoglobulin which is produced naturally by the body and is essential to the immune system by working to combat foreign bodies, germs or bacteria. They are produced by thelymphoid tissue and consist of different classes each of which is designed to fight specific antigens. They include agglutinins, bacteriolysins, opsonins and preciptin.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. cross the placentaThe placenta is a large disk shaped membrane responsible for providing nourishment to the fetus during pregnancy. It consists of three parts, the fetal part made up from the chorion membrane surrounding the fetus, the maternal part, formed from the decidua basalis layer of the uterine lining, and the intervillous space between the two plates. It is connected to the fetus by the umbilical cord and consists of tissue from both the mother and the embryo.
Its function is complex. It has been described as a simple organ that combines the functions of a kidney-dialysis machine, heart and lung machine and intravenous drip. It consists of enormous numbers of blood vessel branches that permit the exchange of nutrition and oxygen, from the mother's bloodstream to the fetus and the removal of wastes to the mother to be excreted. The placenta's remarkable quality is that it does so without the blood of the mother mixing with that of the baby.
It also is responsible for the production of vital hormones including, estrogen, progesterone, and human chorionic gonadotropin. After birth, the placenta is delivered, and is sometimes referred to as the afterbirth.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. prior to delivery. There is a possible, but very low risk of neonatal thrombocytopenia and splenomagaly in babies who were infected during childbirth.
The mumps vaccine is not administered in pregnancy. It is a live virus that encourages your body to build its own antibodiesA protein immunoglobulin which is produced naturally by the body and is essential to the immune system by working to combat foreign bodies, germs or bacteria. They are produced by thelymphoid tissue and consist of different classes each of which is designed to fight specific antigens. They include agglutinins, bacteriolysins, opsonins and preciptin.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. and while there is no evidence to prove that it causes congenital abnormalitiesAny abnormality which is present at birth. Also called birth defects, they can arise from genetic inheritance or acquired during gestation through disease or drugs.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions., there is a slightly increased risk of miscarriage.
If you contract mumps during pregnancy you will be prescribed bed rest and a diet of soft foods such as mashed potatoes and soups. Lots of fluid is recommended to combat fever.
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