Is it true that coming into contact with cat feces can harm the unborn baby of pregnant women, whether by a mishap handling kitty litter or gardening in an area where cats may have relieved themselves?
If this is true, how can pregnant women make sure that they stay safe, since content with feces is generally unwitting?
Not entirely on topic but still relevant. My wife contracted Toxoplasmosis while she was pregnant with our 3rd child. It all ended well but it was one heck of a cliffhanger and could easily have resulted in our daughter being severely handicapped or dead. We have no idea how my wife contracted it. So a few pointers may be helpful for others:
The Centers for Disease Control report that there is a risk of exposure to toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by a parasite. This parasite can be found in cat feces, though the CDC reports that exposure is more likely from undercooked meat or gardening. (They don't say, but I assume the gardening risk is through animal droppings in general, not just cats.)
The CDC gives the following advice to mitigate the risk:
If you own a cat, have a non-pregnant person change the litter box every day. If there is no one else to change the litter box, wear gloves and wash hands with soap and running water after changing the litter.
Risk may be reduced if the litter box is changed every day.
Keep cats indoors.
Avoid adopting or handling stray cats.
Feed cats only canned or dried commercial cat food, never undercooked or raw meat.
Do not bring a new cat into your house that might have been an outdoor cat or might have been fed raw meat.
For more information and citations, see the linked article.
Monica Cellio's answer already mentions recommendations if you own a cat and most of all that you're much more likely to contract toxoplasmosis through undercooked meat (most of the contamination cases) and gardening — you may add insufficiently washed legums and fruits. There are much more informations on the CDC website.
I feel it's also important to understand why the risks of being contaminated by a cat is small :
If you follow basic hygiene rules, it's unlikely that the conditions are met. It's even more unlikely if your cat never goes outdoor and only eats commercial cat food.
However there is no zero risk, and indeed consequences on the baby can be quite terrible, so it's important to be particularly careful during the pregnancy. But again, pay more attention to your food, because it's by food that you're most likely to contract toxoplasmosis.
(Disclaimer : I'm neither a physician nor a vet, just reporting informations published on other (trustable, IMO) websites.)
