Q How can toxoplasmosis affect pregnancy?
Toxoplasmosis is an infection you can get from a microscopic parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. Although the infection generally causes a mild, symptomless illness in people with healthy immune systems, its risky during pregnancy because the parasite may infect the placenta and your unborn baby. Experts estimate that about half of toxoplasmosis infections are caused by eating raw or undercooked infected meat, but you can also get the parasite by eating unwashed contaminated produce, drinking contaminated water, or handling contaminated soil, cat litter, or meat and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes, transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy or from an infected blood transfusion or organ transplant. However, while the transmission rate is higher in late pregnancy, toxoplasmosis is more likely to be severe for your baby if he becomes infected in the first trimester. The consequences for your baby can range from mild to severe, and the infection may result in miscarriage, stillbirth, or death shortly after birth. Depending on your babys gestational age, youll be given the option to end the pregnancy. If you continue the pregnancy, youll be given other antibiotics to take beginning sometime in the second trimester to try to reduce your babys risk of problems. Congenital toxoplasmosis can affect your babys brain, causing problems such as mental or motor developmental delays, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy. It can affect other organs too, most commonly the eyes, leading to visual impairment and sometimes blindness.nThank you.