It is best not to.
Pregnant women can keep pets. The reason "pregnant women cannot keep pets" is one of the most common reasons for abandoning cats and dogs. But can pregnant women really not keep cats or dogs? Is it just hearsay? Or is there scientific evidence? For example, another belief is that once there is a baby, pets cannot be kept. What is the reason for that? Many traditional sayings are ambiguous or based on rumors. For pregnancy, the biggest fear is cat-related toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma gondii), but toxoplasma is not exclusive to cats; it exists in soil and raw meat (the infection rate from these sources is much higher than from cats), and it is also present in the excrement of other animals.
For allergies, allergen testing must be done rather than hastily throwing out the most obvious target in the home. In fact, abroad, veterinarians usually do not advise pregnant women to abandon pets because of this. There are many ways to keep pets, such as restricting cats and dogs to one room during pregnancy and before the baby is very young, and not allowing them to sleep on the bed together. Cleaning pet feces should be done by other family members; if a pregnant woman insists on doing it herself, she should wear gloves and wash hands carefully with soap afterward.
When a baby or toddler is present, maintaining cleanliness is essential; although it takes effort, it is achievable. Actually, it is not that one must oppose people sending cats or dogs away—this is a personal freedom that others cannot interfere with—but to remind female friends to give themselves more joy, space, and firm decisions. Regarding toxoplasma, cats can be tested, and pregnant women themselves can get tested to know if they have been infected. If your pet has a simple lifestyle and tests negative for toxoplasma, perhaps you can worry less and maybe keep them around? The value of pets to children: Owen Bieber, Director of Allergy and Immunology Research at the University of Georgia Medical School, confirmed through a 7-year study of 474 full-term healthy infants that newborns under 1 year who live with two or more cats or dogs have a greatly reduced risk of developing allergies and asthma later.
More surprisingly, this protective effect not only reduces allergies to animals but also extends to common allergens such as grass, pollen, and moths. Children under one year old with two or more pets have a 77% lower allergy rate in skin prick tests and 67% lower in blood tests compared to those without pets. Another study by the University of Bonn in Germany proved that pets hold greater value to children than their closest friends. From both the child's and the mother's perspective, pets help stabilize emotions and heal psychological trauma.
The study found that children with pets integrate better socially and show less aggression, whereas children without pets tend to exhibit more extreme behaviors—being more stubborn, easily agitated, and more prone to violence. In recent years, more families in the country are keeping pet cats and dogs, and many newspapers have warned the public that cats and dogs can cause toxoplasmosis, leading to terrible fetal deformities.
While this is necessary, many articles are insufficiently accurate, exaggerating and causing unnecessary public panic, resulting in many small animals being abandoned. This article answers several common questions posed by pet owners. 1. What is toxoplasmosis? Toxoplasma infection is caused by a toxoplasma parasite; toxoplasma infections are widespread worldwide. In the US and UK, about 16-40% of adults have been infected, with some surveys reaching 70%, and in continental Europe and Latin America, 50-80% of adults have been infected, with up to 90% in France.
A 1985-90 survey in 23 provinces, cities, and regions of China mostly showed infection rates under 10%, significantly lower than abroad. Most healthy people infected with toxoplasma show no symptoms or only mild symptoms and do not know when they were infected. Only a few people during the primary infection have fever, lymph node swelling, headaches, muscle and joint pains, and abdominal pain; after several days or weeks, the immune system suppresses symptoms. The cysts formed can remain in the body for months, years, or longer, usually resolving on their own.
However, people with severe immune deficiency, such as AIDS patients, face severe consequences if infected. Pregnant women can pass the infection to the fetus, potentially causing serious outcomes. 2. How is toxoplasma transmitted? Mainly by eating undercooked meat, especially pork and lamb. Almost all mammals and birds, such as rodents, pigs, sheep, cattle, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and geese, can carry and transmit toxoplasma, often at high rates.
Human infections mainly come from this animal meat; if hot pot meat is not cooked at a sufficient temperature or time, toxoplasma is not killed and poses a transmission risk. Contaminated raw meat or cutting boards can also transmit infection. Contaminated sheep or cow milk can also spread the infection. The relatively low infection rate in China may relate to the traditional habit of thoroughly cooking meat. Dogs can also transmit toxoplasma, but their feces and excretions are not infectious if dog meat is not eaten.
Some say "dogs are closely related to humans and are an important source of infection," and others blame household dogs for children born with "intellectual disability, congenital heart disease, or an extra finger," but these are unsupported claims. Infected cat feces are an important source of transmission. Cats and felines are the definitive hosts for toxoplasma. The infected cat's feces shed oocysts, usually lasting 1 to 20 days, rarely longer; this is the infectious period.
About 1% of cat feces worldwide contain toxoplasma oocysts. The oocysts must undergo 2 to 5 days of external development to become infectious, so timing in handling cat feces is important. Oocysts can survive for several months or longer in water or moist soil, so food, water, or dust contaminated by cat feces can infect humans if ingested. In regions where meat is thoroughly cooked, felines are a key infection source.
However, many other intermediate hosts can also spread infection. For instance, many farms with few cats still have many infected cattle and sheep; some islands without cats still have high infection rates among residents. Thus, a major Chinese parasitology book states: because livestock intermediate hosts have high infection rates, from the human infection source perspective, cat fecal contamination is not as important as eating undercooked meat.
Pregnant women infected with toxoplasma can pass the infection to the fetus, causing congenital infection that may lead to severe fetal damage. However, only women who have never been infected before pregnancy and have a primary infection during pregnancy pose the risk of transmission; if a woman was infected before pregnancy, there is no further risk of transmission.
3. What are the fetal risks of congenital toxoplasma infection? If congenital infection occurs in the first three months of pregnancy, about 40% of fetuses may suffer serious damage, including miscarriage, stillbirth, or newborn illness, or post-birth eye, brain, or liver lesions or deformities such as chorioretinitis, cataracts, brain calcification, hydrocephalus, microcephaly, intellectual disability, jaundice, and hepatosplenomegaly.
Infections in the last three months cause severe symptoms in less than 3%. In 1996, a study by Helsinki University Hospital in Finland on fetal toxoplasma impact found among 16,733 pregnant women tested for serum antibodies, only 42 had primary infection. Of these, 36 received spiramycin treatment. Long-term follow-up showed among their children 4 cases of congenital toxoplasmosis, 2 with severe neurological damage and 2 asymptomatic.
The rest showed no developmental or intelligence differences from other children. 4. Should pregnant women routinely undergo serum toxoplasma antibody tests? Some countries like France and Austria require routine tests early in pregnancy; if negative (no prior infection), women are advised to prevent infection and retested periodically. Acute infection results in spiramycin treatment and fetal amniocentesis and ultrasound exams.
If fetal infection is confirmed, sulfonamide plus pyrimethamine treatment is given. If severe fetal symptoms are found, parents may consider termination. Whether this is worthwhile remains debated. Given the low chance of infection during pregnancy and fetal infection, US and UK studies conclude routine screening is not worthwhile.
Screening for maternal infection is a serious public health issue.
It should be based on local epidemiological studies. Testing must have clear objectives and management principles, high accuracy, systematic follow-up, public acceptance, and a cost-benefit analysis supporting high value.
Many hospitals in China currently perform serum toxoplasma antibody tests on pregnant women. Some hospitals have unregulated testing and handling—tests are done with no concern for results, no treatment follows.
I've often been asked about the meaning of positive results: what to do? Treat or terminate pregnancy? Sometimes results conflict—a test in one hospital is positive, another test negative. This is because reagent and test quality must be high, methods standardized, clinicians need to understand serological results. Poor quality causes false positives/negatives, wasting money, causing anxiety and psychological burden to patients and families, and potential irreversible harm.
Compared to other countries, the chance of pregnant women getting infected in China might be less, so it is suggested to first conduct evaluation studies in qualified hospitals before establishing policy. Blind implementation is not advised. 5. How to prevent and treat toxoplasma infection? First, pay attention to food hygiene; cook meat thoroughly and avoid cross-contamination from raw to cooked foods. Second, keep cats indoors and feed them cooked food or commercial cat food, preventing them from hunting.
This is because cats get infected by eating infected mice, birds, or contaminated cat feces food. Third, hygiene is important—clean cat feces daily and wash hands after contact with animal excrement. Fourth, unless a pregnant woman's serum shows prior toxoplasma infection, avoid contact with cats and their feces during pregnancy. Fifth, toxoplasma infection can be treated effectively with medications such as sulfonamides plus pyrimethamine and spiramycin; treatment should follow medical advice, and timely treatment during pregnancy can reduce fetal infection risk.
From "Beloved Dogs": Every mother hopes to provide the best environment for their child's growth; this is natural. Unfortunately, most gynecologists lack knowledge of domestic animal science and merely advise expectant mothers to avoid pets, sometimes scaring them unnecessarily.
Blindly abandoning actually harmless dogs causes the dogs fear, depression, and worsens their health and temperament.
Former owners also suffer health harm from guilt and longing, making this an unnecessary tragedy. Women who keep dogs should do TORCH screening before pregnancy. Toxoplasma is one of the four items included in TORCH tests. If the test shows prior infestation with toxoplasma, one can safely welcome the baby; if the result shows current infection, pregnancy should be postponed.
Toxoplasma mainly exists in the intestines of stray cats; domestic cats generally do not carry it. If you have kept cats for many years, even if infected in the past, you would have developed antibodies and it is not a concern.