i am 6 weeks pregnant and normally at this stage in france, i would have had a scan and a blood test. i decided to be followed here in london for my boyfriend to be present and understand everything but, i really wanted to know if i was imunised against the toxoplasmose and when i went to see the GP (because i will normally see the midwife in 5 weeks) to ask for a blood test, the nurse was very surprised and didn't know what is the toxoplasmose. the doctor gave her approval to do me a blood test because we do it in France. So i am wondering if amongst the english pregnant woman, no one has been confronted to that problem of toxoplasmose ?

the toxoplasmose test is one of the first one you do when you find out you're pregnant, along with the rubella test. Toxoplasmose is not so easy to catch, and usually it doesn't have any symptoms. Several friends of mine were positive to the test and never realised they'd had it. It is absolutely harmless in "normal" conditions. However, if caught during pregnancy, it could be very dangerous for the baby (he/she might develop mental problems even later in life). Here are the tips I am following to avoid catching it:
- no cured meat such as salami, raw sausages. Ham is ok, as it is cooked
- no rare meat, whatever the animal
- wash you fruit and veg very carefully if you eat them raw. Preferably, peel all the fruit you eat. No probs with cooked vegetables.
- If you have a cat, avoid clening its litter, as toxoplasmose is carried by cats' feacis.

As usual here, I will repeat the test every month or so to check I am still negative to the infection, as it must be treated immediatley if caught.
Hope this was helpful

at least someone who understand me!! it is so nice because here, i am feeling like an extraterrestre to care about the toxo cause nobody around me does.
I don't know anything about the health system in Italy but the big difference between France and England is that here in UK, you have to care about yourself on your own, finding the help you require in the books because if you go to see the GP, he only has 10 mn for you and that's it.
When i realised that the first time i went to see her to say that i am pregnant, she just told me to not stress for 3 months, or how do you want to not stress when you know that during the first three months, because it is new for you, you have questions to ask, some pain that you want to speak about, you want to know if you haven't got too much sugar in your blood, if you are not R-, if you have or havent' toxo, etc.
I am now 10 weeks, i should have already met the midwife, be appointed for a scan next week. in fact, nothing has been done, and i have to chase my GP to know why and when it is going to be done!

How long did you live in UK?
Are you English native?
I always wanted to live in Italy, the language is so beautiful and charming! Where do live exactly?

I am not 9 weeks pregnant and I've already had my first scan and heard his/her heartbeat!! It's such an amazing experience!!
I am native Italian and live in Turin, but I lived in England for three years - I left three years ago.
I must say I am very happy with the way my GP and gynaecologist are following me. I had the toxo, rubella and all the other blood test before getting pregnant. It is free of charge here, you just need a paper from you GP stating that you need the exams for your pre-natal checks and then you just go to hospital for your blood and urine tests. All doctors recommend finding out about toxo, rubella, Rh + or -, hepatitis, HIV etc. before getting pregnant, so this is really a routine check here. I have no idea how it works in the UK, as I never had babies there
Anyway, don't worry... if you have no strong pains, contractions or bleeds, I'm sure everything is fine! I'm sure there must be some sex clinic near you where you can go to if you have any doubts or worries...

Pregnancy care in France is a lot more sophisticated than in the UK, I think that it is great that you are making your surgery think about it!
I think that most people know what toxoplasmosis is, hence they avoid rare meat, unpasturised dairy products and cats, but how good are we at educating pregnant women is self care during pregnancy?
I find this kind of interesting
x Babs

if i understand your post very well, i am sorry sometimes my understanding of English is bad. Do you mean by your last sentence that in UK you are good? not that i pretend the opposite but just to have your opinion.
How many weeks are you pregnant? What kind of test did you have already?

Is that the thing you can pick up from cats? I don't think it's a big medical worry here, but will find out, my sister in law is pg and I don't remember her mentioning it.

but according to the books, toxoplasmose is very important cause you can catch it with cat's litter but also with the pork/lamb not enough cooked and the result could be a miscarriage.
But, i am curious to know what you sister in law will say about that.
Look forward to hearing from you, thank you.

We've just heard that I'm pregnant but last weekend, we stayed with a friend who has cats. I hardly touched them, but my friend insisted it was only the litter that was important to avoid, I was a bit more reticent perhaps because I wasn't sure either way; however, my French GP confirms it's all contact apparently, so to try to avoid if you have no antibodies to it. That's another thing to bear in mind, you may have already had it. He said in all his years of practice he's seen it in a pregant woman once in 35 years, which sounds good statistics wise. Anyway, I hope that's useful. BTW: re UK doctors I agree the French do seem more interested in pregnancy and related issues, maybe it's down to their State encouragement of 'the family'. Anyway, best wishes A