Pets & Birth Defects?

[strangekitty]

Do you believe pets (Dogs, Cats, Chins, Hedgies, etc..) can cause birth defects, even while there is sanitation? (Mother washes hands, Animals are clean, healthy, etc.)

Okay, this is, in my opinion, simply.. nonsense.

I am tired of parents claiming that perfectly healthy pets will ruin their child! I honestly don't think that my pet Chinchilla will run up your ****** and attack your unborn baby.

If there is any scientific evidence that pets can cause birth defects, I'd love to hear it.

[TheChinClique]

I have never ever heard of chinchillas being a risk so if someone is telling you that they are probably hearing it from a paranoid friend or a doctor that wants to make more money by making their patient stress out for no reason. Also with cats and the whole cat poop and birth defect theory...no thanks, I am not selling my cat because of some slight chance. Keep your animal indoors, keep it clean, vaccinate it and hope for the best. If you are going to get pregnant and don't want to "risk it" don't get the pet. Babies are pretty safe in their mother's womb. It is when they get out that the real trouble starts!

-Andrea

[dawn]

I honestly don't think that my pet Chinchilla will run up your ****** and attack your unborn baby.


I am sorry this may be out of line but this comment made me ROFL:rofl:

[TheChinClique]

Here is a link to pet related illnesses and what we can do to prevent them:

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:mu2sB2FZTGUJ:www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/hl/sp/home/alert05052005.jsp+pets+cause+birth+defects&hl=en

It is Cached from google to help :)

Here is another one which is a little fishy because it is "laboratory animals" so I don't know if the same rules apply for pets but here it is anyway:

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:WBy3bytAgCkJ:iacuc.cwru.edu/policy/occ_safety_pregnancy.html+chinchillas+cause+birth+ defects&hl=en

I still say that 9.999999999999999 times out of 10 nothing will happen. But if you are worried about it, don't get pets.

-Andrea

[Sketch]

I don't blame the mothers who worry about the effects someone else's animal is going to have on their unborn child..

A) Their doctor has spit an unbelieveable amount of jibberish at them and they believe it.
B) They are NOT the OWNERS of the pets and don't know how you care for them. They don't know how clean you keep their cages and whether they recieve regular vetting.
C) They don't have experience with the species of animal. You ever notice someone who doesn't own a chin is extremely curious and has 500 questions and thinks they're really cool? Well, Its because they know nothing about them. It would go the same for protecting their own offspring.

Chinchillas in most peoples eyes equals Rodents which equals disease. Catch my drift? Doesn't matter that your chin doesn't carry the plague. THEY do not KNOW that.

My son Jacob is 10 days old today. Before I had him I was asked by my Doctor what animals I have in the house. I told her an assortment of small animals and a few feline friends.. I was told, "Having pets and being pregnant isn't dangerous to the baby, you just can't be the one cleaning out the cat box. The urine can be toxic."

Don't know whether it was true or false.. I just used it to my advantage and got out of cleaning the two kitty boxes for 9 months and still going.. LOL Told him "I handle the baby to much, you clean it." Muhahaha!

[CHINCHILDREN]

you cannot group all pet together. some do pose danger.
i think you may not be a parent. it is really hard to get kids to brush their teeth, wash their hands, turn off the lights...

don't be so quick to judge.

p.s. we have a house full of animals so we are not what you would consider the over protective/paranoide parents...

[Chingal]

I can saywhen I was pregnant with my first child I was afraid of my 240 pound great dane, who thought she was a poodle. I had a very difficult pregnancy eearly labor, eclampsia, and just being very sick) I only weighed 102 pounds 6 months pregnant and I am 5' 8" so imagine this dog leaping at you in the recliner.. I was terrifeid for my child, so we did give her to some good friends of ours for that reason and to this day I believe it was right one. Now with my daughters I worked had the dogs,chins, and fish and very easy pregnancy's

[FurryFriends]

I don't believe all of the old wives tales.
The only thing I was extra careful and concerned about was my turtle and salmonella, and the kitty litter box. Even though I am not currently pregnant, I still harp on everyone who touches the turt or aquarium to wash with soap and water afterwards.

[bear]

I still harp on everyone who touches the turt or aquarium to wash with soap and water afterwards.

oddly enough, a good washing solves most disease problems (stress the most)... i am ready to scream when reading/watching the news and hearing about an animal-borne illness that makes hamsters/cats/dogs unsafe. duh! wash your hands!

[Kmammone]

The only thing I've ever heard of in terms of causing pregnancy problems is pregnant women can't change cats' litter boxes. This is true. I don't remember what it can cause, but I think its not a birth defect, its an illness in the mother that is dangerous.

As for living with animals, well, its unsanitary to live with humans as well.

When we told my MIL I was pregnant with my daughter, her FIRST response was "when are you getting rid of the animals?".
Forget the fact that I had raised my son with these animals and he was perfectly healthy.
Its different to have an animal that is large enough and silly enough to unknowingly hurt a pregnant woman and therefore the baby, or to have an animal who would attack or harm a baby then it is to have one who causes birth defects. If that is the case, then obviously, you protect the child.

My MIL and my sister's MIL (who have never met) have the SAME cat story. When they were little kids, they followed the family cat under the bed and got their face scratched very badly. Well, two things. These women have never met, yet they have the exact same story?? How weird. The other is neither has a scar from this. Kids fall and get cuts and scrapes all the time! These are the SAME women who, when the kid falls outside and cries will say "oh, he's fine, don't baby him. Yet both were convinced that our cats would pretty much eat our babies!
We have sent my MIL the coolest pictures of her ONLY grand-daughter with all sorts of animals, including tigers. I think this is cool. How many children have gotten to work with tigers? She throws these pictures away!!!

I've been bitten and scratched by many species in my life. Two I did get infections from, neither was a domestic species.
Some people just don't like animals and use this as an excuse to get them out of their grown children's homes. And some of those children believe what their parents tell them.