What happens if a pregnant woman gets meningitis?

We found that pneumococcal meningitis during pregnancy can be rapidly fatal and is associated with foetal death, especially in the first trimester. L. monocytogenes meningitis was associated with a high rate of neonatal deaths.

Is pregnancy a risk factor for meningitis?

Pregnancy. Pregnancy increases the risk of listeriosis — an infection caused by listeria bacteria, which may also cause meningitis.

How does meningitis affect a baby?

Infants with meningitis might have different symptoms. Babies might be cranky, feed poorly, and be sleepy or hard to wake up. It may be hard to comfort them, even when they’re picked up and rocked. They also may have a fever or bulging fontanelle (soft spot on head).

Can having meningitis as a baby affect you later in life?

Bacterial meningitis in childhood is associated with cognitive deficiencies, sensorimotor impairments and motor dysfunction later in life.

What causes meningitis in pregnancy?

Pregnant women can pass group B Streptococcus (group B strep) to their baby during delivery. Newborns infected with group B strep can develop meningitis or other serious infections soon after birth. Talk with your doctor or midwife about getting a group B test when you are 36 through 37 weeks pregnant.

What does a headache from meningitis feel like?

A headache caused by meningitis is typically described as severe and unrelenting. It does not subside by taking an aspirin. Stiff neck. This symptom most commonly involves a reduced ability to flex the neck forward, also called nuchal rigidity.

How can I prevent my baby from getting meningitis?

Vaccines to prevent infections that can lead to bacterial meningitis in babies are:

1. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine. This protects against H.
2. Pneumococcal (PCV13) vaccine. This protects against meningitis due to many strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae.
3. Meningococcal vaccine.

Does meningitis cause autism?

In addition, there are anecdotal reports of children developing autism after serious infections such as meningitis or encephalitis, Zimmerman said.

Can a baby survive meningitis?

Meningitis is an uncommon but serious, life-threatening infection. However, a baby will almost always fully recover when it’s diagnosed and treated early. If treatment is delayed, a baby can still recover, but they may be left with one or more long-term effects, including: blindness.

How long will it take to recover from meningitis?

Recovery. If you are diagnosed with viral meningitis, you will usually find that symptoms improve within a few days and most recover fully after one to four weeks. It is common for you to experience tiredness for a longer period following this.

How long do you stay in hospital with meningitis?

People with meningitis may need to stay in hospital for a few days, and in certain cases treatment may be needed for several weeks. Even after going home, it may be a while before you feel completely back to normal.

Does meningitis lower IQ?

Survivors of bacterial meningitis had an approximately 5 point reduction in IQ compared with healthy controls, a deficit that was similar across all organisms and equivalent to a 0.33 SD reduction in IQ. Survivors of bacterial meningitis were 5-fold more likely to have intellectual impairment (IQ<70) than controls.