Toxoplasmosis

Since discovering that I was pregnant, I had to do blood test each month to check if I was infected with toxoplasmosis during these 9 months. Most countries (including Singapore) do not make these blood test complusory but in France, pregnant women who have never contracted this disease are routinely screened for toxoplasmosis. This disease can be fatal for the unborn baby if the mother gets it during pregnancy.

Most Asian women are not immuned to this disease as we do not have the culture of eating raw meat or semi-cooked meat. Also, we hardly eat salads. Food wise is not a problem for me as I make sure that all meat are well done and that I avoid salads. Fruits have to be washed and peeled.

Cat's faeces can also contain the disease (for a few weeks) if the cat had been in contact with infected birds/mice (through hunting). Seb and I are very cautious on this point. Poor Bao Bei has not been to Chartres since many months as we do not want her to go into my in-laws' garden. Seb has been cleaning her litter box every morning. When Seb was away on work trips, I would clean Bao Bei's litter box with gloves. I wash my hands every time I carress her. She still sleeps with us every night at our feet. This is a habit since she was a kitten so it was not possible to keep her out of our bedroom.

Gardening is also a big NO as soil can contain this disease. Though we doubt that the little pots on our balcony contain the parasite, I just avoid gardening totally. During winter, it was still bearable. But now that spring is here and I am at home, I am dying to go Truffaut to buy flowers for my bare balcony. If baby is here in May, I won't have time to do planting.

Each month, we waited with suspense on the blood test result and so far so good. I am still toxoplasmosis negative. Thank God! Once baby is here, I will start to eat more half-cooked meat and salads. I do hope to get this disease and be immuned to it.