In catching up on my posts from recent days, I've come across some
discussion that does not seem to be resolved regarding vaginal herpes
infection and breastfeeding.

Does anyone know of any research based studies on this issue? Vaginal
herpes is a fairly common STD:

#1 Are we speaking of a primary or secondary infection?  If it is a
primary infection, the mother may very well be viremic.  During this
period, is breastfeeding safe?  If not, then what about the myriad of
other viral infections which women contract every day?

#2 If this is a secondary infection, and the mother has an isolated
local outbreak, and her own circulating antibodies (which may or may not
be transmitted through her milk), shouldn't her milk be safe?

Hoping to learn more,

Katherine Abdun-Nur RN, CLE
Grants Pass, OR   USA