Lamb feeding experience whilst pregnant…advice please

[Jbin82]

Hi everyone,
Looking for some advice, personal experience and hopefully some reassurance.

I’m currently six weeks pregnant and took my toddler to a lamb feeding experience today. I already feel so guilty about not thinking of the risks this could pose. As we left, I had a sudden inkling that it was not advisable to do this whilst pregnant. There were no signs around the farm to say this, but upon leaving I checked the website and it did state on there to avoid this area if pregnant - adding to my anxiety and guilt.

Some specific information about what we did:

We were probably in the lamb area for 10 minutes. This involved listening to a short talk and then bottle feeding a 4-6 week old lamb. The lambs were enclosed behind a gate and my toddler was on a hay bale to reach. I assisted my toddler in holding the bottle. We were therefore close to the lamb and the gate. Neither of us touched the lamb. We hand sanitised prior to entering the lamb shed and we washed our hands with soap and warm water after the feed finished. We washed our hands again before getting into the car, and when we came home we changed out of our clothes and both had a bath/shower. I also contacted the farm and they have no confirmed cases of toxo or infections (I know this cannot be guaranteed).

I am obviously very very worried and will be speaking to my midwife tomorrow, but it would be so helpful to know if anyone has been in a similar situation and what happened, and whether there is anything else I can do at this stage.

thank you xx

Sorry OP I don’t have any direct experience, but try to stay calm. You’ve done all the right things by contacting the farm, sanitising hands and seeing your midwife tomorrow. Hopefully she will be able to put your mind at ease - try and relax until then 💐

I’m pretty sure the risk come from the blood so only a problem if a lamb is born there and then or literally just been born. If you washed your hands straight after I am going to say your risk is very low!

I'd wash thoroughly and put all your clothes out for a wash, but I suspect the risk is tiny.

Toxo is only a risk during the birth of lambs I believe. I dont think the risk is really substantial in lambs of that age.
But the farm should really have notices up to warn people as many wont even realise it is a problem.

Toxiplasmosis usually causes abortion (miscarriage) in sheep, so the main risk is to pregnant women helping with lambing, as not all lambs are born alive. I'm assuming that you were only near live lambs, which means the risk is very small. In addition, most flocks (especially those likely to meet the public) are vaccinated, reducing the risk further. While I can understand your concern, and I wouldn't advise going near pregnant sheep or lambs when pregnant, the risk to you is very very small.