hpv virus and pregnancy

HPV is not likely to affect pregnancy or the health of the child expected. If a woman has genital warts, they grow faster during pregnancy due to extra vaginal discharge which in turn provides the virus a moist environment to thrive on, or due to hormonal changes, or changes in the pregnant woman’s immune system. Usually, warts pose no problems for the pregnant woman or for the baby.

It's a chance that the woman passes on the virus to the baby, but this possibility is rather remote. Even if the child does contract HPV, he's likely to grow out of it without any symptoms or problems manifesting ever.
If the child contracts the type of HPV that causes genital warts, he is likely to develop warts on his vocal cords and other areas sometime during infancy or in early childhood. This condition, called recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, is serious, but it's also rare.

Mothers-to-be are not usually tested for HPV during their routine examination. Most women discover they have the virus only when they develop warts or if they have had abnormal pap smear result. A single test is sufficient to detect the most common types of high-risk HPV, and some practitioners do it along with a Pap smear on women age 30 and older. But, one may undergo this test at any age in particular circumstances, as when the pap smear shows mildly abnormal changes and the practitioner advises follow-up.

There's no drug that can help get rid of the virus, but if one complains of warts, the doctor may decide not to treat them during pregnancy, because they often get cure on their own or disappear after childbirth. There are certain treatments followed, however, that can be used to remove the warts safely during pregnancy.
If the doctor deems it necessary to remove the wart, he may use a special acid solution to freeze off the warts with a liquid nitrogen solution. The doctor may even remove the wart by laser technique, by electrocautery, or through surgery.
Two prescription products that women use are meant to treat genital warts, but these too are not prescribed during pregnancy. Drugstore medications meant for common warts are not a safe bet either.

If the pap smear result is abnormal, the doctor may examine the cervix and vagina with a special microscope in a procedure called colposcopy. (as uncomfortable as a Pap, and takes longer). If the doctor sees suspicious changes in the cells, he may even have a biopsy of the tissue done and that may cause some temporary discomfort and bleeding.