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Children
Youngsters whose mothers had chickenpox late in pregnancy--five to 21 days before giving birth--are vulnerable to shingles. Sometimes these children are born with chickenpox or develop it within a few days. A third of the babies will develop shingles in the first five years of life.
The time lapse between the start of the mother's illness and the birth of the baby generally allows the mother's immune system to react and produce antibodies to fight the virus, and these antibodies can be transmitted to the unborn child and thus help fight the infection.
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