Pregnancy and Chickenpox

I am due to go visit my brother and family next week, and knowing that I am pregnant, they rang to let me know that one of their (three) children has chickenpox. They had been to the Dr's, who said it was only a mild case, but the contagious period could be anywhere from 7-21 days.

Now, as this is my first baby, I have no idea if chicken pox and pregnancy are dangerous, potentially lethal or just a nuisance.

I checked the NHS website, What are the risks of chickenpox during pregnancy?

I also visited my usual pregnancy / mums websites for advice. They all seem to indicate that as I have had them, I should be OK. The general consensus seemed to be that if I caught them, it is just the chickenpox, nothing dangerous, or worrying, but if I was closer to my due date and caught them I could pass them on to my newborn.

I rang my midwife team for advice. Eventually I got a call back that didn't help!

The midwife asked if I needed to go, I said I didn't need to go but wanted to. She said they wouldn't recommend it. But did say if it was my child that had them I would just have to get on with it!

So by now I'm confused. I obviously don't want to put my baby at risk, but she said that at worst, I would get chickenpox. Well that I guessed.

She helpfully suggested that she asks for my bloods to be tested for anti-bodies to it, as they keep bloods from booking in appointments. I agreed, so now have to wait until Monday for the results.

You know, sometimes, when you feel worse for having a conversation..?

Btw, if you every need to search chickenpox during pregnancy, make sure google is not set to pictures :-(

Results are in...

I received my letter from the hospital today, following last weeks' scan and blood tests.

My baby has an estimated individual risk of 1 in 65716.

Very low, and weirdly specific!

Obviously, I am pleased with the results, but it did make me question whether I should have had the test in the first place. I don't feel I would have changed anything because of the result. So was it worth having?

I guess because it was not an intrusive test, I had nothing to lose, but if it came back I needed further testing, would I have risked the (minimal) chance of miscarriage? 

But hindsight is a great thing, if the test results had been different, would I even be having this thought process.