I believe the term you are looking for is "toxoplasmosis." Here is what I found....
Toxoplasmosis is an infection you can get from a microscopic parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. Although the infection is generally a mild, symptomless illness for people with healthy immune systems, it's risky to get during pregnancy because the parasite can sometimes infect the placenta and your baby.
The number of babies born in the United States with toxoplasmosis (known as "congenital toxoplasmosis") is relatively small, but the infection can be devastating, causing stillbirth or long-term damage. Fortunately, there's a lot you can do to avoid becoming infected in the first place.
What are my chances of getting toxoplasmosis and infecting my baby?
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that only about 15 percent of women of childbearing age are immune to toxoplasmosis. So unless you know for sure that you're immune, you should take steps to avoid becoming infected. Fortunately, the number of women who contract the disease during pregnancy is still relatively small and not all of them transmit the infection to their babies.
If you get infected with toxoplasmosis in the first trimester, the risk that your baby will also be infected is about 15 percent. The risk rises to about 30 percent if you get infected in the second trimester and to 60 percent in the third trimester. Somewhere between 1 and 10 in 10,000 babies in the United States contract the infection in utero each year.
There's also a very small risk of infecting your baby if you contract the infection within three months before you conceive. To be on the safe side, some experts recommend that infected women wait six months before trying to conceive.
How is toxoplasmosis spread?
Some experts believe that about half of toxoplasmosis infections are caused by eating raw or undercooked infected meat, but you can also get the parasite in other ways, such as eating unwashed contaminated produce, drinking contaminated water, or handling contaminated soil, cat litter, or meat and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes. Toxoplasmosis can't be transmitted from person to person, with the exception of transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy or from an infected blood transfusion or organ transplant.
Do I have to get rid of my cat?
No. You've probably heard that cat feces and litter are a major source of toxoplasmosis, but that doesn't mean you need to get rid of your beloved pet. It just means you'll need to take some extra precautions. Here's the scoop on how cats can transmit the infection.
Felines are a natural host for the parasite and it reproduces in their intestines. A cat may become infected with toxoplasmosis from eating infected prey or undercooked meat, or anything contaminated by the feces of another infected cat. The parasites then form "oocysts" in the cat's gut, and the cat excretes up to 10 million oocysts daily for about a week to ten days. (Oocysts can't be seen with the naked eye, and in most cases you'll have no idea that your cat is sick.)
The oocysts first become infectious 24 hours or so after they're excreted. Under the right conditions, they can live in the soil, sand, or litter and remain infectious for up to 18 months. During this time, they spread, contaminating water, fruits, and vegetables, and infecting warm-blooded species, including humans, that ingest them.
So while it's possible to get infected with toxoplasma oocytes from direct contact with cat feces (such as handling the litter of a newly infected cat), you can also be exposed to oocytes elsewhere (for example, while gardening, eating unwashed vegetables, or drinking contaminated water).
Although only cats pass the parasite in their feces, other infected species harbor the parasite in their tissue forever, in so-called "tissue cysts." Heat will kill the parasites, but if you eat raw or undercooked meat (or touch it and then touch your mouth, nose, or eyes), you can be infected by these tissue cysts. Pork, lamb, and game meat (like venison) are major culprits, but any type of meat may be infected, so all meat should be handled and cooked appropriately.
So how do I avoid getting infected?
Here are some guidelines, whether you have a cat or not:
• Cook meat well. Use a food thermometer to test the internal temperature of meat. Most meat should be cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, or 180 degrees F in the thigh for whole poultry. If you're not actually measuring the temperature of the meat, cook it until it's no longer pink in the middle. Be sure not to sample meat you're cooking before it's done.
• Avoid salt-cured or smoked meats such as Genoa salami, Parma ham, and prosciutto unless you first heat them until they're steaming. For example, they're fine if cooked on a pizza. But if not cooked, they're risky because they might have been processed without thorough heating or with no heat at all. Also, don't eat dried meats like jerky, which may have not gotten sufficiently hot during the drying process.
• Don't drink unpasteurized milk or products made from unpasteurized milk, and avoid raw eggs.
• Wash or peel fruits and vegetables before eating.
• Wash counters, cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and your hands with hot, soapy water after preparing unwashed produce or uncooked meat, poultry, or seafood.
• Don't touch your mouth, nose, or eyes while preparing food, and always wash your hands before eating. Also make sure open sores aren't in contact with potential sources of exposure to the parasite. Wear disposable gloves if you have cuts on your hands.
• Keep flies and cockroaches away from your food.
• Avoid contaminated water. Use bottled water when camping or traveling to developing countries.
• Wear gloves while gardening, and don't touch your hands to your mouth, nose, or eyes until they've been washed thoroughly afterward.
• Avoid public sandboxes and cover your child's sandbox when it's not in use. If that's not always possible, then stay out of it as well. (Toxoplasmosis isn't likely to be harmful for your child and you can't catch it from him if he does get it, but you do need to stay away from sand that might contain infected cat feces.)
• Don't get a new kitten or cat while you're pregnant, and don't play with stray cats or kittens.
• If you have a cat, have other people empty the litter box, and have them do it daily. This reduces the risk of infection because the oocysts aren't infectious for the first 24 hours after they're excreted. If you must do the job, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands well afterward. Some even suggest wearing a mask in case any particles become airborne when the litter is stirred up, and disinfecting the box by pouring near-boiling water into it five minutes before you handle it.
• To keep your cat from becoming infected while you're pregnant, feed him only commercial cat food or well-cooked table scraps, never raw or undercooked meat. Keep him indoors so he won't hunt down potentially infected prey like mice or birds. (Remember, though, that even an indoor cat might catch a mouse.)
• Keep Kitty off of the kitchen counter and dining table.
• Though it's unlikely your cat has any parasites in his fur, it's a good idea to wash your hands after playing with him, especially before eating or otherwise putting your hands to your mouth.
How will I know if I get toxoplasmosis?
Without testing, you probably won't know you've been infected because the vast majority of people with healthy immune systems don't have any symptoms at all. If you do, you may have painless swollen lymph glands and other generally mild symptoms like muscle aches, fatigue, headache, fever, and possibly a sore throat or a rash. Only rarely do more serious symptoms arise in otherwise healthy people. Sometimes toxoplasmosis is suspected when certain fetal abnormalities are picked up during a prenatal ultrasound, though most infected babies look normal.
Blood tests that can detect toxoplasmosis antibodies that indicate immunity or recent infection, but experts disagree over whether pregnant women need to be screened routinely. In the United States, where the disease isn't very common, some worry that screening all pregnant women would result in too many false positive results, leading to undue anxiety and costly follow-up testing. Others argue that even though congenital toxoplasmosis is relatively rare, the consequences can be devastating, so they advocate prenatal testing for all women or universal newborn testing or both.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) doesn't recommend screening pregnant women, with the exception of those who are HIV-positive or when infection is suspected. In contrast, in France, where the disease is more common, , all women are tested, and those who aren't immune are tested monthly during pregnancy.
Talk about the pros and cons of testing with your doctor or midwife and together you can make a decision that's right for you. And be sure to call your caregiver if you have swollen glands or other reasons to suspect you've been infected.
If it seems as though you might be infected, your blood will tested to measure your levels of two antibodies (IgG and IgM). Depending on the results, you may need to be tested again in two to three weeks and have your blood sent to a toxoplasmosis "reference lab." This is done both to confirm the initial results and to help pinpoint when you might have become infected.
What will happen if I do get toxoplasmosis?
If test results suggest that you got toxoplasmosis while pregnant, your practitioner will begin treating you with an antibiotic that may lower your risk of transmitting the disease to your baby. And since not all maternal infections are transmitted to the baby, you'll have an amniocentesis to determine whether your baby also has the infection. (The lab will do a special DNA test on your amniotic fluid to check for the presence of the toxoplasmosis parasite.) You'll also have a series of ultrasounds throughout your pregnancy to look for abnormalities in your developing baby.
If your amniotic fluid shows that your baby has been infected or an ultrasound shows a problem, you'll probably be referred to a specialist for care, and you may also want to talk to a genetic counselor about the risks to your baby. Depending on your baby's gestational age, you'll be given the option to end the pregnancy. If you continue the pregnancy, you'll be given other antibiotics to take beginning some time in the second trimester to reduce the risk of problems for your baby.
What could happen if my baby gets toxoplasmosis and how will he be treated?
The consequences for your baby can range from mild to severe. It's unclear whether toxoplasmosis can cause miscarriage, though in some cases it can result in stillbirth or death shortly after birth. Congenital toxoplasmosis can affect your baby's brain, causing structural and neurological 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. Other signs of toxoplasmosis may include an enlarged liver and jaundice, an enlarged spleen, a low platelet count, a rash, a heart or lung infection, and enlarged lymph nodes.
The vast majority of babies with congenital toxoplasmosis, particularly those infected later in pregnancy, look normal at birth but may develop serious problems such as vision impairment (and possibly blindness) and developmental delays months or even many years later. For this reason and because treating babies effectively reduces the progression of the disease, some experts say that all babies in the United States should be tested for toxoplasmosis. Currently only Massachusetts and New Hampshire routinely do so.
If your baby tests positive for toxoplasmosis at birth, he'll be treated with antibiotics for about a year, even if he has no symptoms. Special hearing and eye exams will be done, as well as a sonogram or CAT scan of his head and other tests as needed. Studies show that although treatment after birth may not reverse all the damage that occurred before birth, it will greatly reduce a baby's risk of developing new problems during infancy and beyond.
Note: There is also something called Toxemia that could be what you're after.....
Preeclampsia, also known as toxemia, is a complex disorder that affects about 5 to 8 percent of pregnant women. You're diagnosed with preeclampsia if you have high blood pressure and protein in your urine after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The condition most commonly shows up after you've reached 37 weeks, but it can develop any time in the second half of pregnancy, as well as during labor or even after delivery (usually in the first 24 to 48 hours). It's also possible to get preeclampsia before 20 weeks, but only in rare cases, such as with a molar pregnancy. Preeclampsia can range from mild to severe, and it can progress slowly or rapidly. The only way to get better is to deliver your baby.
How can preeclampsia affect my health and my baby's?
The more severe your preeclampsia and the earlier it occurs in your pregnancy, the greater the risks for both you and your baby. Most women who get preeclampsia develop a mild version near their due date and they and their babies do fine with proper care. But when preeclampsia is severe, it can affect many organs and cause serious or even life-threatening problems. That's why you'll need to deliver early if your condition is severe or getting worse.
Preeclampsia causes your blood vessels to constrict, resulting in high blood pressure and a decrease in blood flow that can affect many organs in your body, such as your liver, kidneys, and brain. When less blood flows to your uterus, it can mean problems for your baby, such as poor growth, decreased amniotic fluid, and placental abruption — when the placenta separates from the uterine wall before delivery. In addition, your baby may suffer the effects of prematurity if you need to deliver early to protect your health.
Changes in your blood vessels caused by preeclampsia may cause your capillaries to "leak" fluid into your tissues, which results in swelling (known as edema). And when the tiny blood vessels in your kidneys leak, protein from your bloodstream spills into your urine. (It's normal to have a tiny amount of protein in your urine but more than a little bit can signal a problem.)
In rare cases, preeclampsia can lead to seizures, a condition called eclampsia. In fact, "pre-eclampsia" was so named because it was first identified as the condition that leads to these seizures. All women with severe preeclampsia are given magnesium sulfate, an anti-seizure medication. That's because the seizures can be hard to predict — though they're often preceded by symptoms such as severe or persistent headache, blurred vision or seeing spots, or intense upper abdominal pain).
What is HELLP syndrome?
Up to 20 percent of women with severe preeclampsia will develop a condition called HELLP syndrome. HELLP stands for Hemolysis, the breakdown of red blood cells; Elevated Liver enzymes; and Low Platelets, the blood cells that are necessary for blood clotting. Having this condition puts you and your baby at a higher risk for the same kinds of problems you would have with severe preeclampsia. Once you develop preeclampsia, you'll have your blood tested periodically for signs of HELLP syndrome.
How would I know if I had preeclampsia?
Preeclampsia often has no obvious symptoms, particularly in the early stages, so you may not feel sick. What's more, some symptoms of preeclampsia, such as swelling and weight gain, may seem like normal pregnancy complaints. So you might not know you have the condition until it's discovered at a routine prenatal visit, when a nurse takes your blood pressure and checks your urine for protein. (This is one of the reasons it's so important not to miss your appointments.)
Your blood pressure is considered high if you have a systolic reading of 140 or greater or a diastolic reading of 90 or higher. Because blood pressure can fluctuate during the day, you'll need to have more than one reading to confirm that it's consistently high. The nurse will also dip a test strip into your urine sample to look for protein. The amount of protein in urine can also fluctuate during the day, so if your practitioner suspects there's a problem, she'll have you collect your urine for 24 hours so it can be tested.
Preeclampsia can also come on suddenly between prenatal appointments, so it's important to be aware of the possible symptoms. Call your midwife or doctor right away if you notice swelling in your face or puffiness around your eyes, more than slight swelling of your hands, or excessive or sudden swelling of your feet or ankles. This is caused by water retention that can also lead to a rapid weight gain — so also let your caregiver know if you gain more than 4 pounds in a week. (Be aware, though, that not all women with preeclampsia have swelling.) With more severe preeclampsia you may have other symptoms as well, including:
• A severe or persistent headache
• Vision changes, including double vision, blurriness, seeing spots or flashing lights, light sensitivity, or temporary loss of vision
• Intense pain or tenderness in your upper abdomen
• Nausea or vomiting
What causes preeclampsia?
Despite extensive research, no one knows for sure what causes the condition. It's likely that there's no single explanation. Genetics, certain underlying diseases, the way your immune system reacts to pregnancy, and other factors may play a role. Most experts believe that many cases of preeclampsia actually begin early in pregnancy, well before any symptoms become evident.
One theory is that it happens when the placenta fails to implant properly in the lining of your uterus and your arteries in that area don't dilate as they should, so less blood flows to the placenta. In other cases, having a condition such as chronic hypertension or diabetes can cause the decreased blood flow to the placenta. This can set off a complex chain of events that includes constricted blood vessels (leading to high blood pressure), damage to the vessel walls (leading to swelling and protein in your urine), and changes in blood clotting, which in turn can cause a host of other problems.
Does having high blood pressure before pregnancy put me at higher risk for preeclampsia?
Yes. If you're found to have high blood pressure before you conceive or during the first half of your pregnancy, you're considered to have chronic hypertension and your practitioner will need to monitor you closely during your pregnancy to make sure that your blood pressure stays under control and your baby is thriving, and to watch for signs of preeclampsia and other complications. Women with chronic hypertension who develop preeclampsia are at higher risk for complications than women with either condition alone.
What else puts me at high risk for preeclampsia?
It's more common to get preeclampsia for the first time during a first pregnancy. However, once you've had preeclampsia, you're at higher risk for developing it again in later pregnancies. The more severe the condition and the earlier it occurred, the higher the risk. In fact, if you had severe preeclampsia that started before 30 weeks of pregnancy, your risk of getting it again may be as high as 40 percent. Other risk factors include:
• Having chronic hypertension (as mentioned above)
• Having certain blood clotting disorders, diabetes, kidney disease, or an autoimmune disease like lupus
• Having a close relative who has had preeclampsia (such as a mother, sister, grandmother, or aunt)
• Being obese (having a body mass index of 30 or more)
• Carrying two or more babies
• Being younger than 20 or older than 40
How is preeclampsia managed?
It depends on how severe it is, how far along you are, and how your baby's doing. You'll probably be hospitalized at least for an initial assessment and possibly for the rest of your pregnancy. Besides blood pressure and urine testing, your practitioner will do a number of blood tests to find out how serious the problem is. You'll also have a sonogram to check your baby's growth, and a biophysical profile (BPP) and nonstress test (NST) to see how your baby's doing.
If you have mild preeclampsia and you're 37 weeks or more, you'll likely be induced right away, especially if your cervix is starting to thin out and dilate. Or, if there are signs that you or your baby can't tolerate labor, you'll have a c-section.
If you're not yet at 37 weeks, your condition is mild and appears stable, and your baby's in good condition, you probably won't need to deliver right away. Instead, you might be sent home and told to take it easy, or your practitioner might want you to remain in the hospital so that you can rest in bed and be monitored. Although no definitive studies show that bedrest improves the outcome for you and your baby when you have preeclampsia, it's true that blood pressure is generally lower when you're at rest. So most practitioners will recommend restricting your activities or going on modified bedrest. (Complete bedrest, in which you're confined to bed for an extended period, is probably not helpful and increases your risk for blood clots.)
Whether at home or in the hospital, you and your baby will be monitored closely for the rest of your pregnancy. If you're at home, this will mean coming in to see your practitioner for frequent blood pressure checks and urine tests, as well as going in for periodic sonograms and NSTs, and doing daily fetal kick counts. If at any time your symptoms indicate that your preeclampsia is getting worse or that your baby isn't thriving, you'll be re-admitted to the hospital and will probably need to deliver.
If you're diagnosed with severe preeclampsia, you'll definitely have to spend the rest of your pregnancy in the hospital. And you may be transferred to a hospital where you can be cared for by a high-risk pregnancy specialist. You'll be given magnesium sulfate intravenously to prevent seizures, and another medication to lower your blood pressure if it's extremely high. If you're 34 weeks or more, you'll be induced or delivered by c-section. If you're less than 34 weeks, you'll be given corticosteroids to help your baby's lungs mature faster. If you don't deliver immediately, both you and your baby will be monitored extremely closely. You'll be induced (or, in certain situations, delivered by cesarean section) at the first sign that the preeclampsia is getting worse (including if you have HELLP or eclampsia) or your baby is not thriving inside, regardless of where you are in your pregnancy.
If you develop preeclampsia during labor, you'll be monitored closely. Depending on your situation, you may be given magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures and medication to reduce your blood pressure.
After delivery, you'll remain under close supervision for a few days to keep tabs on your blood pressure and watch for signs of other complications. Many cases of eclampsia and HELLP syndrome happen after delivery, usually during the first 48 hours. So expect to continue having your blood pressure taken frequently. Most women, particularly those with mild preeclampsia, see it start to go down in a day or so. More severe cases often remain elevated for longer. Those women are given magnesium sulfate through an IV for at least 24 hours after delivery to help prevent seizures, and may end up going home on blood pressure medication.
Is there any way I can avoid getting preeclampsia?
There's no known way to prevent preeclampsia, although there's ongoing research in this area. Several studies have looked at whether taking extra calcium or a low dose of aspirin could help prevent or treat preeclampsia, but the results have been conflicting and most experts don't recommend either one routinely for low-risk women. One small study showed that women who took vitamins C and E had a lower rate of preeclampsia, and large studies are now under way in Britain and the United States to test this prevention strategy. Until we know for sure, the best thing you can do is get good prenatal care and keep all your prenatal appointments. At each visit your healthcare provider will check your blood pressure and test your urine for protein. It's also important to be aware of the warning signs of preeclampsia so that you can alert your caregiver and get treated as soon as possible.
How is preeclampsia different from gestational hypertension?
If you develop high blood pressure after 20 weeks of pregnancy but don't have protein in your urine, you're said to have gestational hypertension (also known as pregnancy-induced hypertension). If protein is later found in your urine, your diagnosis changes to preeclampsia. This happens to about a quarter of women who are initially diagnosed with gestational hypertension.
Most likely, your blood pressure will return to a normal level after you have your baby. If your blood pressure is still high three months after you give birth, you'll be diagnosed with chronic hypertension. That doesn't mean that gestational hypertension caused you to develop chronic hypertension. Instead, you probably had chronic hypertension all along and just didn't know it. Pregnancy usually causes blood pressure to decrease at the end of the first trimester and throughout much of the second trimester, so it can temporarily hide chronic hypertension. So if your first prenatal visit wasn't until late in the first trimester or even later, your practitioner might not have caught it until later in your pregnancy.