Anyone had mice while pregnant?

[Mummytono2]

Hi there

I'm a newcomer to the board and looking for some advice as I'm having a really anxious time.

I recently had a mouse entered the house. Seems like it was just one and in one cupboard. I have obviously cleaned everything and every surface but I'm scared I've missed something I didn't know its been on. However I have read about something mice spread which can cause birth defects.

I guess I'm looking for reassurance from someone. Has anyone else had mice and gone on to have a healthy pregnancy?

I should also say I suffer with OCD and anxiety so this has caused me a considerable amount of stress and upset over recent weeks.

Hi, not much to say about mice, just wanted to say I've got ocd too. In week 28 of my pregnancy and had some pretty bad anxiety related to being pregnant. Just thought you'd like to know your not alone :-) x

I'm in the UK, honestly, I'm that crap at cleaning I ended up with a cleaner once I went back to work, so I can assure you I did zilch cleaning after a little mouse. Didn't even enter my mind, I was too fed up being pregnant.

Thank u all! Hoping this calm period lasts. They tend not to with me!

Appreciated all ur stories etc. maybe I've over reacted a little. Pretty sure a lot of people would just clean and forget about it!

Thanks freaked mum. Not sure about u but I can read something with a 1% likelihood and that will be me off in a panic for days on end. Anxiety is definitely worse when I have someone else to look after.

Mummytono2 I also have OCD when it comes to organisation and cleanliness so you are definitely not alone in regards to the wanting to clean everywhere- it's frustrating that it has happened whilst pregnant as you can't necessarily scrub the floors with bleach without getting a bad back!

I managed to sleep last night by doing a relaxation exercise I found on the internet- mostly controlled breathing and repeating to myself that the mouse is dead... My boyfriend thinks I've gone even more mad with the cleaning- he found me cleaning the window cills and for handles at 12.30 last night...

Glad you are feeling calmer- I think reassurance from the midwife definitely helps and don't google anything.

Yes, same. I'm mostly worried about what i eat. Being pregnant just makes the responsibility feel so big!!

We just washed up the pans from that cupboard normally (washing up liquid and water), that's all. I do think they are pretty common. It's not really the kind of thing you bring up in conversation is it??

Mummytono2 - We get mice in the house all the time. Our cats very kindly bring them in alive, then let them go. One Christmas we had two living in the sofa, and one night o/h and I pulled back the bedcovers to hop into bed and a little beady-eyed face popped up and looked at us. We spent the next hour trying to catch it, whilst the pesky cat glared at us for making such a racket, because SHE was trying to sleep!!!

They do carry disease, but as long as you are generally hygienic they should pose no particular problem, as has already been said. Cat faeces also can cause problems for pregnant women, but I've had cats for years and years and had no problems. As long as you are careful and generally clean, there is nothing to be overly worried about!

I have a few humane mouse traps - in my experience, mice love garibaldi biscuits and Mars bars (just a useful snippet for anyone wanting baiting tips. They also like banana and avocado, but Mars and Garibaldi last a little longer before perishing)! I catch them and pop them back outside (far away from the house, obviously). However, we did have a rats' nest in our compost heap last year. I'm afraid to say they got the poison treatment. Mice are one thing, rats entirely another!!! Yeuch

I have health related and timing-related OCD/anxiety. It sucks.

I have found people see my dusty house and don't believe me. But I've rang the MW for some crazy stuff and also do crazy things like check appointment cards x100 and get my DH to ring me repeatedly on the way to the appointment in case I am late (when we are going from different places).

So I was going to just repeat what Evans says BUT... I am hardly the voice of reason. Mice are one of the few things that don't freak me out!!

Does anyone reckon I should request a test for this

Hi we had a mouse when I was 30ish weeks pregnant. Coincidentally I also have ocd and worried alot about catching something. It took us a week or so to catch it (nutella was its weak point!). I did worry about it but as dh pointed out we would have seen any droppings and smelt any urine (which I think is how the infections are spread?). Until it was caught I just made sure I washed my hands before eating and washed any food (which was really only the fruit in the fruit bowl) that had been left out. And we disinfected the hard floors.
We read a lot of info that said it was highly unlikely to be a single mouse, but there's been no sign of any others since we trapped this one - and we left traps out for weeks afterwards - so seems he was a bit of a loner!
Try not to worry, the risk of catching something is very low. I have a healthy 6 week old now

Mummytono2 - I'd say no, you do not need a test. Stop panicking.

We lived in an old house when I was pregnant and when dc's were babies, and the only time we didn't have mice was when we had rats.
All was well.
I just got used to putting all food in containers and wiping down kitchen surfaces in the morning.
Try not to worry, op.

No I don't think you need a test.

We get them occasionally, thanks to the kitties bringing them in. Often we find them in several pieces in the morning, but sometimes they're obv alive for at least a little while first (the washing machine can't be so interesting that a kitten wants to stare at it for hours. Must be living under it). Caught one last week in a humane trap and popped it in the garden. I get a bit funny about washing my hands lots around food, but suspect my husband doesn't (and thinks I'm slightly OTT about it). We just clean 'normally' and I'm trying to educate him to be a little more thorough. I think mice are really quite common, just many people don't know/don't say they have them.

Well I have requested a test as I just couldn't settle. 2 or. 3 week wait for results. Not doing very well with the stress and worry and really want to enjoy this pregnancy.

Mummytono2 - did you end up having the test? I recently spent 3 days cleaning out a dusty and mouse poo-infested storage unit...and then read about exposure to mouse droppings potentially causing LCMV. Is that what your test was for? Do you know whether it's commonly available? Now I can't stop worrying if I've damaged my baby and even though I know the risk is small, I don't want to spend the next 5 months worrying! I called my dr office but they didn't seem to know much about it.

Eb2,
I had a meltdown about this recently (found mouse poo under the couch where we watch tv) and ended up going to the GP who administered a blood test they ordered from Labcorp (a US lab). I went to the Dr armed with the test I wanted after doing the research, which made it easier but in reality, they didn't know much about it. But like you, I didn't want to spend the second half of my pregnancy worrying about it, so I did the test. I will get the results next week. I also sent you a PM if you would like to discuss this further. Take care and try to relax - the chances are very remote.

Hi, I just wanted to see if there had been any updates on you guys that had the test for lcmv?
We found mice in our house recently and I really can't help but worry about it ALL the time; I have even been dreaming about mice! I heard them in our bedroom so I did a major clean up and filled a couple of gaps I found and since then I have heard nothing. I see a doctor & midwife tomorrow and I know they are probably going to say not to worry but in my mind this is serious; so serious that I am moving out of this house and in with my parents this Wednesday.

Stacey if you are moving due to a mouse, you do need to tell them this. The op had OCD and anxiety: these can become common in pregnancy (I have anxiety) and lead to illogical huge decisions and a raised risk of pnd.
AsKing for tests isn't always the best plan: it "validates" abd rationalises irrational understanding of risk.
The fact you've trawled through old threads to find one which matches your anxiety also concerns me.

I also have anxiety so can see the signs. Mice are very common. Lcmv is not (otherwise mw would be on alert). Quite frankly you are more at risk from traffic or germs on the bus than this: but it's latched hold of you.
Please do mention the moving house thing. It is extreme.

Completely agree with squizita, you need some help managing your anxiety not the mice.

I have dd 9, dd 6, ds 4 & twin dds 3 months, I also have mice, can't figure out where there living but they travel all around the house and have done for a yr, were all fine, didn't have a test or even consider it even though it was a high risk pregnancy.
Go and speak to your Dr and mw so they can help you learn to control your anxiety.

How did this turn out? We've been battling mice at my house for a month. Before I knew about them I drank tea from a kettle with mouse droppings and have been freaking out ever since .... I also picked up a towel left on the floor which was covered in urine and smelled it closely thinking it might have been the dog who peed on it. I've been absolutely beside myself for weeks that I've done something (well two things) that will cause irreversible harm to my baby. We've got poison down in our walls now and can hear them going for it so I'm hoping for an end to this soon :(.

Hoping it turned out okay for you...

We probably have mice. I saw one last week but since putting (humane) traps down haven’t caught any or seen/heard one since. We live in a 19th century timber frame cottage. I just assume there probably are mice somewhere tbh. Other than a hoover in case of mouse poo under the sofa, I’ve done nothing different. We lived here when I was pregnant with my son, I’d imagine we were just as likely to have the odd mouse about then, and he’s totally fine. I’m also a midwife and it’s not one of the things we are especially concerned about.

Didn’t realise this was an old thread and was replying to the OP 🙄

Don’t worry about it @Dogmomma. It’s unlikely a mouse could make a towel smell of urine tbh so it probably was dog pee!

Thanks so much :) that really is helpful.... I've been losing my mind with anxiety about it; I just can't shake the feeling that there's something wrong with the baby and it's making it difficult to enjoy the pregnancy. But it helps a lot to hear from others.