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Are my pregnancy tests fine?

Dr B Shakuntala Baliga MD (AIIMS), FICOG
Professor and Senior Consultant Gynecologist & Colposcopist
Mazumdar-Shaw Center for Cancer Research & Narayana Hrudayalaya Multispecialty Hospital, Bangalore

Q: I am 19 weeks pregnant and it is my first pregnancy. In the Ultrasound everything looks ok (just the placenta is a little too thick). The blood test shows CMV IgM positive, IgG < 250 and the amniotic fluid it shows CMV DNS lightly positive? Do I have a chance to have a healthy baby? What does it mean?

A:Reports indicate that you have had an acute infection with the CMV virus. It is difficult to date the exact time you contracted the infection. Check with your treating obstetrician to check whether or not you need any other test - especially an anomaly scan by an experienced radiologist. Also, amniotic fluid CMV DNA (I guess) is faintly positive - it indicates infection has probably been transmitted to baby. This can be confirmed by cordocentesis - but only by a highly trained obstetrician and you must have access to an excellenct lab. This procedure is not without its complications. Check with your obstetrician.