LymeNet Flash: Should a woman with Lyme have children?

This is topic Should a woman with Lyme have children? in forum Medical Questions at LymeNet Flash.

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Posted by fetzer (Member # 6571) on :

I am currently not doing very well and am not considering having children at this time, however, I'm wondering what new research is out there. Will my kids definitely have Lyme? Should I not have children?

Posted by treepatrol (Member # 4117) on :

Personaly I would hold off untill you get rid of lyme.Talk to crymeoflyme and some other females on here that had it happen.

Posted by skrwolf (Member # 1575) on :

Hi....

I am the moderator of a Pregnancy and Lyme group over on Yahoo. Just to warn you, this is a pretty highly charged topic on this board. I asked a question somewhat like this a couple of years ago and was blasted...

There is some conflicting information out there about this issue. From all that I have researched, I have learned that yes, Lyme can be passed in utero. It can be especially bad when the mother is infected during pregnancy. But, according to Dr. B and Dr. Jones, if the mother is treated with appropriate antibiotics during pregnancy, the risk of transmission is very low.

I just had my third child and was on abx the whole time. All of my baby's PCR's at birth were negative. Of course, I know that this doesn't mean that she is out of the woods, but it is a good sign.

For our family, the incredible blessing and joy that she has brought into our lives has been worth the risk. I think that this is a very personal, individual question... But I believe it is possible to have a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Please feel free to join us over on the Yahoo group. We have a lot of women that have had babies, are pregnant, or are thinking about pregnancy with Lyme. The site is: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/PregLyme/.

Good luck with your decisions!

Shelly

Posted by Sue vG (Member # 3143) on :

I would not presume to advise anyone on such a personal matter, but I do recall a poster here named "KJ", whose posts you can look up to piece together her story.

Let's just say she "did everything right", was on abx the whole time, was under the advisement of Dr. J, who was her older child's doctor, and her second baby was born with lyme nevertheless.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Posted by treepatrol (Member # 4117) on :

Heres a search I just did for you.

Pregnant http://flash.lymenet.org/scripts/search.cgi

Posted by sofy (Member # 5721) on :

Its wonderful to want children but you have to ask yourself if you could live with yourself if, by fulfilling your own desires to have a child, you brought lyme disease to that child.

Having children is about giving love and you can do that without subjecting the new child to a serious disease.

Just look at all aspects and think about adoption or fostering a child who desperately needs love and comfort.

I wish you well in you search to give love. Being sick has reaffirmed my belief that we are here to learn to love. It,s not about receiving and fulfilling ourselves. That comes from the joy of giving.

Posted by Kara Tyson (Member # 939) on :

Whether or not to have children is a personal issue. And no one can answer that question for you.

It is the same as should someone who knows they MAY give their child a birth defect? What if the chances are 10%, 20%, 50%, 80%??

What if the birth defect is minor (an extra vertebra or two in the lumbar--a condition in my family)??

What if the defect is major (being born without a complete skull--a condition in my family)??
________________
At this point, focus on today because no one knows what will happen tomorrow.

You may not even be ABLE to have children or the person you are with, might not be ABLE to have children.

Live for today. Tomorrow will come on its own.

Posted by lymiecanuck on :

Personal decision. Personally I will not have any more children. I could not imagine possibly subjecting a child to any of the hell I have gone through. It is breaking my heart to look at my own child and know something is wrong and no one will listen or help, even his own father, and here I sit, with my head above water, where at any time I could drown and leave my baby - motherless.

It breaks my heart, and not what I wanted to experience in parenthood, when I decided to have a baby to love, cherish and protect. I will tell you that since becoming ill, I cherish each day as though it were my last with him, and grieve his loss and mine.

The trauma that my son has suffered psychologically, from watching me dying and no one helping is deep and will affect him for life. This I have no doubt he will need theapy of some kind.

It is gamble some are willing to take and I wish them all the luck in the world. Wanting a child is a very serious emotion and a natural part of life. My maternal instinct struck so hard, I could not imagine having a fulfulling life without a child. This was after many years of saying I would never have them. I didn't know I had lyme.

A very personal decison and no doubt difficult.

Lymiecanuck

Posted by TheCrimeOfLyme (Member # 4019) on :

I cant tell anyone whether they should or shouldnt have children.

I can tell you that two of my children are severely, severely disabled due to lyme.

I didnt know I had lyme when I was pregnant. I was just tired all the time.

Posted by AmandaPI (Member # 5587) on :

I was wondering this myself....

Any stories of women out there that have recovered and had healthy children?

Also, how does one know that they have "truly" recovered?

Thanks,

Amanda

Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :

http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/018891.html

Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :

Fetzer...

I had a few minutes and researched some newer information on tickborne diseases and pregnancy.

Since there are about 12 pages.. I am posting it at a new site so I down bog down this site for you.

I also include syphlis in these abstracts because syphlis is a spirochetal disease... like Lyme.. and more studies have been done on that specific spirochete and it's effects.

Hope this helps some with your request.

Hope you feel better soon.

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If you get the choice to sit it out or dance...

Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :

Here is the link in case the post gets lost...

http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/029607.html