Pregnancy & Malaria

Hi. My husband 3 year old son and I are planning on traveling to India in August. We will be visiting Coimbatore, Delhi, Agra and Japur. We are staying in 5 star accommodations with a/c and are doing a private tour.

Since I am pregnant, my doctor prescribed Larium for Malaria prevention. She said that if it were her she would not take the pills because they have very bad side effects and that prevention (Deet, long sleeves, not going out at dusk) should be enough to protect us in those areas.

Anyone know how high the risk for malaria is in these locations? I know that since I am pregnant I might have a higher likelihood of getting malaria and that it can be very bad for the baby.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Unless you are planning to stay entirely indoors you will be exposed to mosquitoes. Cities do have malaria. Malaria can have a devastating impact on a developing fetus. Fortunately abortion is readily available in India.

In terms of malarial prophylaxis a lot depends on which one. There are several and they have varying levels of risk. If its Larium I would agree with the doc. If its Malarone the safety level is very high. In any regimine you must know & follow the directions. You will find an extensive debate here and on health sites on malaria using the search engine. Just note that pregnancy introduces a special element to the decision making.

Rely on your own research as well because many doctors outside of Asia have little knowledge of tropical medicine. In the US larium is increasingly not prescribed because of the strong & dangerous effects on mental stabilty. What it does to a fetus is anybody's guess. I would suggest a doctor knowledgable in tropical at the very least..

Please see the UK Health Authority's India Malaria map.

I also recommend that you study their booklet which you can download here. Having done so will put you in a better position to decide whether and what to take, or even if you should be visiting a malarial area at all. It is written for UK doctors, as well as their patients, and unless you are talking to a tropical specialist, may even result in you knowing more about malaria than your doc does!

Also consider that malaria is not the only mosquito-carried disease, nor, in certain circumstances, is it even the most dangerous ...although, as per edwardseco's comments, it might be very dangerous indeed to your child.

Thank you so much. I have looked at that map and all of the areas we are going are the light pink (low to no risk).

Unfortunately, Lariam is the only "safe" anti-malaria drug for pregnancy. It is also what they prescribed for my 3 year old son. After reading about it and talking to the nurse, I am pretty sure we want to follow her advice and not take it because of the horrible side effects.

Basically at this point it is just deciding if the risk of malaria and other mosquito-carried diseases is worth even going on the trip at all. I will be 23-24 weeks pregnant when I travel to India.

Thanks again

India will wait for you

You should be talking to your primary health care provider, and check with what your medical insurance covers for preventative care. Also check with your local city/townships Health Department, they might have someone who has professional knowledge.