Select a condition Absence seizures Acne ADHD Age-related macular degeneration AIDS Alzheimer's disease AMD Amebic dysentery Anal tears Angina, stable Angina, unstable Ankle sprain Anorexia Anxiety Appendicitis Arthritis Asthma in adults Asthma in children Athlete's foot Atrial fibrillation Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Autism Back pain Bacterial vaginosis Bad breath Bedsores Bedwetting Bell's palsy Benign prostatic hyperplasia Bipolar disorder Bladder infection in women Blood pressure Breast cancer Breast pain Bronchiectasis Bronchiolitis Bronchitis Bulimia Bunions Burning mouth syndrome Burns and scalds Canker sores Cardiac arrest Carpal tunnel syndrome Cataracts Cellulitis and erysipelas Chickenpox Childbirth, heavy bleeding Childbirth, tear or cut Chlamydia Chronic bronchitis Chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic prostatitis Chronic tension type headache Cold sores Colic in babies Colon and rectal cancer Colon and rectal cancer screening Colonic diverticular disease Common cold Conjunctivitis Constipation in adults Constipation in children COPD Crib death Deep vein thrombosis Dementia Depression in adults Depression in children Diabetes, type 1 Diabetes, type 2 Diarrhea in adults Diarrhea in children Diverticular disease Ear infection, middle ear Ear infection, outer ear Ear infection with discharge Ear infection with fluid Ear pain during air travel Ear wax Eczema Emphysema Endometriosis Enlarged prostate Epilepsy Episiotomy Erection problems Essential tremor Febrile seizures Fertility problems Fibroids Flu Gallstones Genital herpes Genital warts GERD GERD in children Glaucoma Gonorrhea Gout Group B streptococcus H. pylori infection Halitosis Hay fever Headache, chronic tension type Head lice Heart and circulation problems in diabetes Heart attack Heartburn Heart failure Heavy periods Heel pain Hemorrhoids Hepatitis B Hepatitis C Hernia Herpes, genital Herpes simplex eye infection High blood pressure High blood pressure in pregnancy High cholesterol HIV infection Hyperactivity IBS Incontinence in women Infection in newborn babies Infertility Influenza Insomnia in adults Irritable bowel syndrome Jaundice in newborn babies Jet lag Kidney infection Kidney stones Leg cramps Leg ulcers Lewy body dementia Lung cancer Lyme disease Macular degeneration Malaria prevention Manic depression Mastalgia Measles, mumps and rubella: prevention Melanoma Meniere's disease Meningococcal disease Menopause Migraine in adults Migraine in children MMR prevention Morning sickness Multiple sclerosis Nail infection, fungal Neck pain Nicotine addiction Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Nosebleeds in children Obesity Obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD Oral thrush Osteoarthritis Osteoporosis Ovarian cancer Painful periods Pancreas cancer Panic attacks Parkinson's disease PCOS Pelvic inflammatory disease Perineal care Peripheral arterial disease Peripheral vascular disease Pneumonia Polycystic ovary syndrome Postpartum depression Postpartum hemorrhage Post-traumatic stress disorder Preeclampsia Pregnancy, nausea Premature birth Pressure sores Prostate cancer Prostatitis, chronic Psoriasis PTSD Raynaud's disease Rectal cancer screening Recurrent cystitis Reflux in children Rheumatoid arthritis Scabies Schizophrenia Seasonal allergy Shoulder pain Sickle cell anemia Sickle cell disease SIDS Sinusitis Skin cancer (melanoma) Skin cancer (squamous cell) Sleep apnea Sleep problems in children Slipped disk Smoking Sore throat Stomach ulcers Stress headache Stress incontinence Stroke, emergency care Stroke prevention Sudden infant death syndrome Swimmer's ear Tennis elbow Tension headache Testicular cancer Thrush (oral) Tic douloureux Tinnitus Tonsillitis Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy Trigeminal neuralgia Underactive thyroid Urinary tract infections in children Varicocele Varicose veins Vascular dementia Warts Whiplash Wisdom teeth, impacted Wrinkles Yeast infection, vagina

Select treatment area Bladder & Kidneys Blood Brain & nervous system Cancer Children's health Diabetes Digestive system Ear, nose & throat Eating & weight Eyes Fertility Heart and circulation Hormones Infections Lungs & breathing Men's health Mental health Mouth Muscles & bones Pregnancy & childbirth Sexual health Skin Sleep Staying healthy Travel health Women's health

If you're diagnosed with toxoplasmosis while you are pregnant, you'll usually be offered drug treatment to help protect your baby.

If your blood tests show that you've had a recent infection, your doctor will probably offer you a prescription medication called spiramycin. This comes as pills or capsules.

Toxoplasmosis isn't harmful to you. The aim of the medication is to reduce the chance of passing the infection to your unborn baby.¹

Spiramycin isn't available routinely in the United States. But your doctor can make a special request for it.

You'll need to discuss the pros and cons of this treatment with your doctor. Spiramycin hasn't been found to cause birth defects, but there's no guarantee that it's completely safe for your baby.² It passes into the breast milk, although it hasn't been shown to cause problems in nursing babies.

If your doctor thinks that your baby already has toxoplasmosis, there are treatments you can take that pass to your baby. It will probably be a combination of medications that travel to the baby in your blood.

If you had toxoplasmosis just before or during your pregnancy, your baby will be checked carefully shortly after birth. Your baby's doctor will do blood tests to see if he or she is infected. Your baby will also need further tests and examinations during the first months of life.

You can still breastfeed if you have toxoplasmosis. Doctors think it's unlikely that the infection would spread to your baby from breastfeeding.³ The parasite that causes the infection has never been found in human breast milk.

About 1 in 10 newborn babies who get toxoplasmosis while in the womb (congenital toxoplasmosis) have a severe infection that is obvious at the time of birth. These babies often have:⁴

• Eye infection
• Enlarged liver and spleen
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)
• Pneumonia.

Sadly, some babies die within a few days of birth.⁴

Up to 9 in 10 infected babies seem normal at birth. But about 8 in 10 of these babies will have health problems months or even years later. The problems include:⁵

• Eye infections and blindness
• Hearing loss
• Learning disabilities
• Epilepsy.

A serious eye infection called retinochoroiditis is the commonest health problem caused by congenital toxoplasmosis. This can permanently damage your baby's eyesight.

If your baby has eye problems, he or she will need to be supervised by an eye specialist, called an ophthalmologist. This is because new eye infections and sight problems can continue to happen through childhood, into the 20s and even later.⁵

Some research has shown that babies who are treated with drugs in their first year are less likely to suffer permanent damage from toxoplasmosis than those not treated at all or those treated for shorter periods.⁶

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.