Can I Prevent Passing Chagas Disease to My Baby?

Yes, it is highly possible to prevent your baby from getting Chagas disease. If you are diagnosed with Chagas disease before becoming pregnant, taking antiparasitic medication—either benznidazole or nifurtimox—prior to conception reduces the risk of passing the infection to your baby to nearly zero ^[1]. However, it is crucial to complete this treatment before you become pregnant, as these medications cannot be safely taken during pregnancy ^[2][3].

How Treatment Before Pregnancy Protects Your Baby

Chagas disease is caused by a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi. During pregnancy, a mother with Chagas disease can pass the parasite to her baby through the placenta, a process known as congenital transmission ^[4]. The risk of transmission is closely tied to your parasitic load, which is the amount of the parasite currently circulating in your bloodstream ^[5][6].

When you take antiparasitic medications like benznidazole or nifurtimox before you conceive, the medicine clears or drastically lowers the amount of parasite in your body. Studies have shown that treating women of reproductive age with these medications is highly effective, essentially eliminating the risk of congenital transmission compared to women who are untreated ^[1][7]. Even short courses of treatment (30 days or less) have been proven effective in preventing the spread of the disease to the baby ^[7].

Why You Cannot Be Treated During Pregnancy

If you are already pregnant, doctors will not prescribe benznidazole or nifurtimox. These medications are contraindicated (not recommended) during pregnancy because there is not enough safety data, and there are significant concerns about teratogenicity, meaning the drugs could potentially cross the placenta and cause severe birth defects or toxicity to the developing fetus ^[2][3].

If you find out you have Chagas disease while you are already pregnant:

• You will be monitored closely throughout your pregnancy ^[4].
• After birth, your baby will be tested for the infection ^[8].
• If your baby tests positive, they can be treated directly. Treatment is highly successful in newborns and infants when started early ^[9].
• You can receive your own treatment after you have given birth and finished breastfeeding, as the medications may not be safe for a nursing baby. (Note: Breastfeeding itself does not typically transmit Chagas disease).

Planning Your Timeline

If you are planning to grow your family and know you have Chagas disease, working with your healthcare team to establish a timeline is important.

• Testing: Your doctor may use a PCR blood test—a highly sensitive test that looks for the parasite’s genetic material—to check your current parasite levels and establish a baseline ^[4].
• Treatment Course: Treatment generally takes 30 to 60 days, depending on the medication and regimen your doctor selects. Be aware that these medications can have a difficult tolerability profile, with side effects that your doctor will help you monitor and manage ^[10][11][12].
• Waiting Period: Because of the potency of the medications and their potential risk to a fetus, your doctor will advise you to use reliable birth control during the treatment and for a specified period (often a few weeks to a couple of months) after completing the medication before trying to conceive.