Pregnancy and chicken pox

Dear Ask The Doctor: We have a birthday party to go to. I just found out that the birthday girl's mom has chicken pox. I was told that she is confined to her room. Her parents are taking care of party and she will not be helping with the party. Is it safe for us to go to the party. And if we do go.. could we be carriers and expose my 37 weeks pregnant daughter to it?

Dear Deanna: Once you have the infection, you develop resistance and the virus remains dormant in your body usually forever, unless you come into contact with someone with shingles, which can then re-activate the virus.You cannot become a carrier for the virus; if you had it when you were young then you have been carrying the virus which is the varicella-zoster virus through all your life.Chicken Pox is transmitted from person to person by droplet infection, and by droplet nuclei. Most patients are infected by Face to face, (personal) contact. The portal of entry of the virus is through the respiratory tract, I will suggest your daughter to avoid contact with the infected person if she had not developed it before, since the virus can cross the placental barrier and infect the fetus, a condition known as Congenital Varicella. I hope I cleared your doubt.