For 1 out of every 10 women who gets mumps, her ovaries will be infected, causing severe pain. Mumps have caused sterility in only rare cases. Rubella is also called German measles. It is a common disease in children and less common but more severe for adults. People will have a slight fever, rash and swelling of their neck glands that lasts about three days.
Women often find their joints are swollen and ache for a week or two.
If a woman gets rubella in the first three months of pregnancy, there is about an 80 per cent chance that she may have a miscarriage or that her child will be born with a serious disability. Once you have had rubella, you are protected against getting the disease again. But, there are other viruses that produce a rash that looks like rubella. A simple blood test can determine if you are protected. This blood test is recommended for any woman considering pregnancy who does not know if she already had the disease or vaccine.