Pets in pregnancy

When planning your pregnancy, or if you are already in the first weeks, concerns arise, and it is that when a woman is pregnant her immune system becomes vulnerable, so the question arises as to whether our environment is ideal for the course of pregnancy, and many will wonder if it is safe to be with pets during pregnancy or if there are risks to the formation of the baby.

The most important thing is that your specialist is aware, according to different studies, he can give you certain instructions based on the analysis of your results, because if there are possible risks, when living very close to pets.

So it is essential to have someone to help you with the care of your pet, especially avoiding collecting their feces.Another infallible fact is that always, after giving affection, you should go to wash your hands, by taking the correct care you will find that it is very fun to live this beautiful moment with your pets, so we are going to explain several points so that you can take a healthy pregnancy without risks that may affect the development of the baby by having pets in your home.

Precautions that a mother should have during pregnancy

When we begin the first weeks of our pregnancy, our immunity before diseases are diminished so we are more prone to getting sick, so it is necessary to take precautions, especially when we have and live with our pets, it is not only your health that can get hurt, we also refer to the health of your future child.

It is normal to have the doubt whether our pet can affect the normal development of our baby or if it can cause some other problem, the most important thing is to let our specialist know, who has the tools to give you a better diagnosis, since Through the tests you can perform, you can detect what toxoplasmosis is, which seriously affects the growth of the baby.

In order for you to have a healthy pregnancy with your pets, it is necessary to be cautious:

Hygiene is essential, bathing them regularly, keeping their nails short, in addition to cleaning their needs with soap and water to prevent the spread of parasites.
Having control over the vaccines of your pets is important, especially to avoid diseases that not only affect him, but can also affect all three of them.

Especially with cats, you must be extremely careful with their cleaning, it is normal for them to carry the toxoplasma gondii parasite, which seriously affects the development of your fetus.
In the case of dogs and birds, the disease known as salmonella is common, although it does not directly affect the baby if it affects you as a mother, the symptoms are arthritis, meningitis and dehydration.

If it is necessary for you to take care of collecting your pets' waste, such as cleaning your bird cages, you should always wear gloves, and then clean yourself with soap and water. These data, plus the assistance of your specialist, will allow you to have a safe pregnancy shared with your pets, an indisputable source of beautiful emotions.

Benefits of a pet during pregnancy

It is clear that there are multiple benefits to living with our pets in our pregnancy, and it is not wrong to think about the health of our children, so you must have a balance and good hygiene with pets. Complying with this factor and also with the advice that our specialist gives us, we can enjoy the benefits that having a pet brings us in our pregnancy process, so we tell you the benefits:

The Dog in particular will protect you more when you are pregnant, according to different hypotheses they will be able to know how you feel and they will be watching you more than normal.
Despite not having scientific validity, dogs manage to know when you are pregnant even before you know it.
Another fact is that they can know when your baby is about to be born, and they will not stray far from you, there are cases where they even start howling.

Although it is not directly, pets prepare you to face the fact that you will be a mother, so you know that you must give them attention, care, food and have them as a child, it will not be so complicated.
The dog in particular will treat you with great care no matter what its size or how much it weighs, they will play or seek attention in a more friendly and calm way.
Your pets will help you to reduce stress on a large scale, you will even feel much better in those moments where you have mood swings, he will be there for you, asking for your affection.

As you can see, pets have various benefits in your pregnancy; The important thing is to take care of your hygiene and those of your pets, and above all to know that they will be there for you, giving you all their love.

What is toxoplasmosis in pregnancy?

Toxoplasmosis is an infection, which we can usually contract from cats and birds, in general for a person it does not cause any problems, but for pregnant women it can affect the health of the baby, despite everything, it is an infection with very low probabilities of transmitting in a pregnancy, in the same way it is best to take the corresponding tests so we explain what it is about and how we can do in case of contracting it.

The main causes for getting toxoplasmosis are:

Through the consumption of raw meats.
Planting in a garden without gloves, in places where the cat has left feces and is infected.
Change the litter of cats infected with toxoplasmosis.

In the case of having this infection the most common symptoms are

Throat pains.
Tiredness and muscle aches.
Fever.
Rash.

The most important thing is to diagnose the infection and this is done through a blood test, in which the doctor will be able to recognize if you have had or if you have toxoplasmosis, in the case of being pregnant the doctor will recommend some pills which will help prevent infection and treat it to avoid problems with the development of the fetus.

The infection in a person, in general, does not require any pill or medicine to treat it and this is because the human body is capable of creating antibodies that eliminate the infection, but in the case of the fetus, a prescribed medication must be taken by the doctor to treat it and avoid a bad development of the fetus, such as vision, that is born with little weight or some anomaly that may develop, being this very effective to combat it.

Our tips to avoid toxoplasmosis and especially that it does not affect your pregnancy would be:

Wash your hands well.
Prepare well cooked meat.
When having cats comply with a hygiene protocol.
Your partner should take care of collecting the waste from your pets and if you have to, put on gloves and wash your hands with soap and water.
Do not drink water that has not been filtered.
Before eating any fruit, wash them well.

Health should be paramount, but keeping that faithful company is also essential, so if you want to have a successful pregnancy you must take care of yourself to obtain the best results, that is why we invite you to the CELAGEM clinic, which will give you what you need to be able to face your pregnancy in a responsible way and minimizing the risks that may exist.