Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it can also come with all sorts of questions and concerns. This is especially true when unexpected health concerns pop up – like coming in contact with a tick that may potentially be carrying an infectious disease.
Tick-borne illness can be alarming, especially in pregnant women. In a systematic review of Lyme disease and pregnancy, researchers were able to identify 59 cases of gestational Lyme disease between 1969 and 2017. While this is a fairly limited sample, of those cases, some of the complications included pregnancy loss and postpartum abnormalities in the baby.
Luckily, people who were infected with Lyme disease during pregnancy showed a significant decrease in adverse outcomes for the infant when parentally treated – 12% vs. 60% risk for those left untreated.
While no one should have to navigate Lyme disease and pregnancy, it is the reality for some people. This is why it’s important to understand the risks for pregnant people and their babies, as well as what to do if diagnosed, and how to avoid tick-borne illness while pregnant.
The risks of tick-borne disease in pregnant people
It’s important to stay as healthy as you can during pregnancy, both for the health of the mother, as well as the baby. The longer that Lyme and other tick-borne diseases go untreated, the more significantly they can impact a patients’ physical and mental health, immune system, finances, and more.
A possible complication is that if a pregnant person is infected with Lyme disease, the infection can spread to the placenta and thus the fetus. In one study of 60 mothers found to have antibodies against Borrelia, 5% had evidence of spirochetes (bacteria) in their placentas. This can also happen in other tick-borne illnesses like Ehrlichiosis, Rickettsial Diseases, and Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever (TBRF).
Pregnancy can mask tick-borne disease symptoms
Symptoms of tick-borne diseases in pregnant people are similar to those who aren’t pregnant. That being said, pregnancy can make diagnosing Lyme or other tick-borne diseases that much more difficult. Although it’s not technically a medical condition, the changes in the body that come with pregnancy can make it difficult for providers to get to the root of symptoms.
Common symptoms of Lyme disease like fatigue, headaches, nausea, back or joint pain may be dismissed as a normal part of pregnancy. It’s especially important to look out for other symptoms like a rash (erythema migrans), chills, swollen lymph nodes, new heart palpitations, and facial paralysis. Finally, note that not all of these symptoms show up in all patients – for example, up to 75% of patients with Lyme disease never had or never noticed a rash.
What if I’m diagnosed with a tick-borne disease while pregnant?
Although rare, Lyme disease can be potentially passed down to the baby. Lyme disease in children can greatly impair their wellbeing and be difficult to diagnose, with symptoms like cognitive issues, physical symptoms and pain, insomnia, and anxiety affecting their school performance, social lives, and physical and mental health.
Transmission of tick-borne illness to the fetus can lead to unfortunate complications including miscarriage and stillbirth, congenital heart defects, jaundice, and rashes on the baby after birth. In the case of Lyme disease, these risks significantly decline with prompt treatment.
It can be nerve-wracking to be diagnosed with a tick-borne disease while pregnant. The good thing is that you do have options, especially when the infection is caught early. You may want to discuss the safety of various testing and treatment methods with your healthcare provider, but serological (blood) tests for tick-borne disease are generally considered safe for people who are pregnant.
If you are diagnosed with Lyme or another tick-borne disease or co-infection, the first line of treatment for tick-borne illnesses is antibiotics. Lyme disease, in particular, is often treated with the antibiotic doxycycline, except during pregnancy; most tick-borne infections in pregnant people are instead treated with amoxicillin or cefuroxime. That said, some researchers argue that the poor neonatal outcomes in Rickettsial illnesses outweigh the potential risk of doxycycline. Make sure to check with your doctor before beginning any treatment regimen.
The most important factor in one’s chance of recovering from Lyme or another tick-borne disease is timely, accurate diagnosis and treatment. For pregnant people, it’s especially important to advocate for oneself and get tested as soon as possible if tick-borne disease symptoms appear. Thankfully, most pregnant people who are treated promptly go on to have healthy babies.
Avoiding tick-borne diseases while pregnant
The best way to avoid complications from tick-borne disease while pregnant is to avoid infection in the first place. This is especially true if you spend a lot of time in wooded areas or places with tall grass.
There are plenty of other ways you can help avoid contact with ticks, as well as transmission of infection if you do come across them.
Be sure to:
- Avoid ticks when spending time outdoors by staying on marked trails, using a pregnancy-safe tick repellent containing 20% or more DEET, and wearing long layers of clothing – be sure to tuck pants into your socks.
- Treat clothing with an insect repellent that has at least 0.5 percent permethrin.
- Perform tick checks on your body and clothes, as well as pets.
- Wash and dry your clothes after being outside.
- Shower after spending time outside.
If you do find a tick on you, it’s important to be proactive and act fast, since your risk of contracting Lyme disease and other illnesses increases the longer that it is attached. (Soft ticks, for example – the ticks most responsible for Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever – can infect a host in as few as 15 minutes.)
Here’s what to do:
- Use clean tweezers to remove the tick by putting them against your skin and grabbing the tick near its head.
- Then slowly pull the tick up and off your skin, being careful not to squeeze or crush it.
- Do not use soap or lotion to try to remove the tick.
- After it’s completely removed, clean your skin with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
- If possible, save the tick and send it in for testing.
It’s important to watch for symptoms of tick-borne diseases like rashes, headaches, fever, and joint pain, especially if you think you could have been exposed to a tick recently – even if you don’t remember being bitten.
Early, accurate testing is key
Lyme disease and pregnancy can bring up a lot of questions. To avoid complications, it’s important to know what symptoms to watch out for, avoid ticks, and act fast if you do get bit by one.
If you think you may have contracted Lyme disease or another tick-borne illness, the most important thing to do is seek comprehensive testing through innovative labs like IGeneX. An accurate, timely diagnosis is the only way to make sure your infection is properly treated. Learn more about each of our tick-borne disease tests today.
