Or...Search this site Home Symptoms Live Discussion Diagnosis Treatment Area Support Library Research Lymelinks Contact Pets & Lyme DONATIONS Drug Info Medical Dictionary Board of Directors      Click on the graphic to vote for this site as a Starting Point Hot Site. -- No Warranties or Representations The data and information presented in this web site are presented in good faith and believed to be accurate. Any and all liability for the content or any omissions including any inaccuracies, errors, or misstatements in such data or information is expressly disclaimed. The web site is compiled for the sole purpose of informing community members of resources and information pertaining to Lyme Borreliosis Disease and its coinfections. The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, Directors and members are not liable for any direct or indirect damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of information available from this website. Consult a qualified Lyme ( Borreliosis ) Disease literate doctor for medical advice if Lyme Disease is suspect. en français For Physicians Ticks Coinfections Prevention Our Stories Click Here to order our free Lyme Disease Flyer,    Here for our free Lyme Disease Poster ..documents may be copied (to distribute) but edit only for alignment. Also see Karen Forschner's story Here is a reference to the first documented case... Lyme disease can potentially adversely affect pregnancy. In 1985, researchers published the first proof of maternal-fetal transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb): A baby died shortly after birth and Bb spirochetes were found in the infant's spleen, kidney, and bone marrow. (Schlesinger P, Duray P, Burke B, Steere A, Stillman A. Maternal-fetal transmission of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Annals of Internal Med. 1985:(Vol 103) 67-68.)see Maternal-fetal transmission of lyme...a case study To date, miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal deaths (rare), and congenital Lyme disease have all been described in the medical literature. Further research is necessary to investigate possible teratogenic effects that might occur if the spirochete reaches the fetus during the period of organogenesis. Autopsy and clinical studies have associated gestational Lyme borreliosis with various medical problems including fetal death, hydrocephalus, cardiovascular anomalies, neonatal respiratory distress, hyperbilirubinemia, intrauterine growth retardation, cortical blindness, sudden infant death syndrome, and maternal toxemia of pregnancy. Whether any or all of these associations are coincidentally or causally related remains to be clarified by further investigation. It is my expectation that the spectrum of gestational Lyme borreliosis will expand into many of the clinical domains of prenatal syphilis. XXXXXXXXXXX http://www.angelfire.com/punk/lymedisease/M8.html Death 8-Day Old Californian Baby Boy Culture positive seronegative transplacental Lyme borreliosis infant mortality. Lavoie PE;Lattner BP;Duray PH; Barbour AG; Johnson HC. Arthritis Rheum 1987; Volume 30, Number 4, 3(Suppl):S50. "Transplacental infection by Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the agent of Lyme Borreliosis (LB), has recently been documented (L.E. Markowitz, et al; P.A. Schlesinger, et al). Fetal infection confirmed by culture has been reported by A.B. MacDonald (in press) from a highly endemic region (Long Island, NY). We report a culture positive neonatal death occurring in California, a low endemic region. The boy was born by C-section because of fetal distress. He initially appeared normal. He was readmitted at age 8 days with profound lethargy leading to unresponsiveness. Marked peripheral cyanosis, systemic hypertension, metabolic acidosis, myocardial dysfunction, & abdominal aortic thrombosis were found. Death ensued. Bb was grown from a frontal cerebral cortex inoculation. The spirochete appeared similar to the original Long Island tick isolate. Silver stain of brain & heart was confirmatory of tissue infection. The infant was the second born to a California native. The 20 m/o sibling was well. The mother had been having migratory arthralgias and malaise since experiencing horse fly & mosquito bites while camping on the Maine coast in 1971. The family was seronegative for LB by ELISA at Yale. Cardiolipin antibodies were also not found." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX JAMA. 1986 Jun 27;255(24):3394-6. Related Articles, Links Lyme disease during pregnancy. Markowitz LE, Steere AC, Benach JL, Slade JD, Broome CV. Lyme disease is an increasingly recognized tick-borne illness caused by a spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Because the etiologic agent of Lyme disease is a spirochete, there has been concern about the effect of maternal Lyme disease on pregnancy outcome. We reviewed cases of Lyme disease in pregnant women who were identified before knowledge of the pregnancy outcomes. Nineteen cases were identified with onset between 1976 and 1984. Eight of the women were affected during the first trimester, seven during the second trimester, and two during the third trimester; in two, the trimester of onset was unknown. Thirteen received appropriate antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease. Of the 19 pregnancies, five had adverse outcomes, including syndactyly, cortical blindness, intrauterine fetal death, prematurity, and rash in the newborn. Adverse outcomes occurred in cases with infection during each of the trimesters. Although B burgdorferi could not be implicated directly in any of the adverse outcomes, the frequency of such outcomes warrants further surveillance and studies of pregnant women with Lyme disease. PMID: 2423719 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Gestational Lyme borreliosis. Implications for the fetus. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 1989 Nov;15(4):657-77 MacDonald AB Southampton Hospital, New York Great diversity of clinical expression of signs and symptoms of gestational Lyme borreliosis parallels the diversity of prenatal syphilis. It is documented that transplacental transmission of the spirochete from mother to fetus is possible. Further research is necessary to investigate possible teratogenic effects that might occur if the spirochete reaches the fetus during the period of organogenesis. Autopsy and clinical studies have associated gestational Lyme borreliosis with various medical problems including fetal death, hydrocephalus, cardiovascular anomalies, neonatal respiratory distress, hyperbilirubinemia, intrauterine growth retardation, cortical blindness, sudden infant death syndrome, and maternal toxemia of pregnancy. Whether any or all of these associations are coincidentally or causally related remains to be clarified by further investigation. It is my expectation that the spectrum of gestational Lyme borreliosis will expand into many of the clinical domains of prenatal syphilis. 2685924 NLM CIT. ID: 90069113 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Acta Eur Fertil 1988 Sep-Oct;19(5):279-81 Lyme Borrelia positive serology associated with spontaneous abortion in an endemic Italian area. Carlomagno G; Luksa V; Candussi G; Rizzi GM; Trevisan G Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Trieste School of Medicine. Lyme borreliosis acquired during pregnancy may be associated with stillbirth and fetal malformations. This paper reports preliminary results of a study intended to evaluate the frequency of Borrelia burgdorferi infection associated with spontaneous abortion in an endemic Italian area.