Can I go lambing while pregnant?

The verdict

No, and this is one of the most specific pieces of pregnancy guidance the UK government publishes. It is issued jointly by the UK Health Security Agency, the Department of Health and Social Care, Defra and the Health and Safety Executive, which is an unusual line-up and reflects that it covers a workplace as well as a health question.

The core statement is that in order to protect their own health and that of their unborn child, women who are, or who may be, pregnant should be advised to avoid close contact with livestock animals. The reason given is that infectious organisms may be present in birth fluids of animals, particularly sheep, cattle and goats, and these may result in chlamydiosis, listeriosis, Q fever and toxoplasmosis.

The guidance makes a point that is easy to miss: different animal species give birth at different times of the year, so the risks are not confined to the spring when most lambs are born.

What exactly to avoid

The joint guidance sets out four specific things, and they go further than most people expect.

• Do not help ewes to lamb, or provide assistance to a cow that is calving or a nanny goat that is kidding.
• Avoid contact with aborted or newborn lambs, calves or kids, or with the afterbirth, birthing fluids or materials such as bedding contaminated by such birth products.
• Avoid handling or washing clothing, boots or any materials that may have come into contact with animals that have recently given birth, their young or afterbirths. Potentially contaminated clothing will be safe to handle after being washed on a hot cycle.
• Ensure that contacts or partners who have attended animals giving birth take appropriate health and hygiene precautions, including wearing personal protective equipment and clothing and washing adequately to remove contamination.

The third of those is the one people overlook. Doing the laundry is named as a route of exposure, which means a pregnant woman who has been nowhere near a lambing shed can still be exposed through a partner's overalls.

The guidance also tells you what to do if something goes wrong: seek medical advice if you experience fever or influenza-like symptoms, or if you are concerned that you could have acquired an infection from a farm environment.

The four infections and what they do

It helps to know what is actually being guarded against, because the risk is real but small and the guidance says so.

Chlamydiosis is caused by Chlamydia abortus. The guidance states that in pregnancy this can be a severe, sometimes life-threatening, disease in the mother, and result in stillbirth or miscarriage. It is the commonest cause of infectious abortion in sheep in the UK, known as enzootic abortion of ewes.

Q fever is caused by Coxiella burnetii. The joint guidance says Q fever acquired during pregnancy is usually asymptomatic in the mother, but that acute Q fever in pregnancy, symptomatic or not, may have an adverse effect on the fetus and result in premature birth, low birth weight or miscarriage. The NHS adds that Q fever is rare, is most often spread by close contact with infected farm animals, and that if you are pregnant it is especially important to avoid contact with sheep and lambs during the lambing season, which it dates between January and April. It also says plainly: do not help animals give birth if you are pregnant, and do not touch anything that has been near sheep or lambs, such as gloves or boots.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by Toxoplasma gondii. The joint guidance notes that infection acquired for the first time in pregnancy may infect the fetus, but that the majority of babies, 90 to 95 per cent, have no symptoms, with some developing eye disease later in life. The NHS instruction is simply: do not touch pregnant sheep or lambs.

Listeriosis is caused by Listeria monocytogenes and is typically food-borne, but some cases occur through animal contact. Infection can cause serious disease in pregnant women, and in the unborn baby may result in miscarriage or premature birth.

How likely is this actually

The guidance is careful to keep the scale in view, and repeating that is part of giving an honest answer.

It states that although these infections are uncommon, and the number of human pregnancies affected by contact with sheep is extremely small, it is important that pregnant women are made aware of the potential risks. UKHSA's guidance on Chlamydia abortus notes it has been generally accepted that there are only one or two cases each year in pregnant women in the UK.

So the advice is not that lambing is likely to harm you. It is that the consequences when it does are severe, the exposure is entirely avoidable, and there is nothing you gain from taking the risk.

The vaccines are also a hazard

This catches people who are around sheep but not at lambing itself. Live vaccines exist for both enzootic abortion and toxoplasmosis in sheep, and the joint guidance is explicit that neither should be handled by pregnant women or women of childbearing age, because accidental self-administration or ingestion may interfere with normal fetal development.

That means the vet's visit, the drenching gun and the fridge in the farm office are all part of this question, not just the lambing pen.

Open farms, petting zoos and school trips

The guidance covers livestock generally rather than only working farms, which brings visitor attractions into scope. The relevant distinction is not the setting but whether animals are giving birth or have recently done so.

Many open farms run lambing seasons as a visitor attraction, which is precisely the period the guidance addresses. If you are pregnant and going to one, the sensible approach is to check whether animals are lambing before you go, avoid any area where they are, and follow the ordinary handwashing rules everywhere else.

If lambing is your job

This becomes an employment matter with legal weight behind it. The HSE states that your employer must carry out a specific individual risk assessment when you tell them you are pregnant, and must reduce, remove or control any risk identified. If the risk cannot be controlled, they should adjust your working conditions or hours; if that is not possible you should be offered suitable alternative work on the same terms and conditions including pay; and if that is not possible either, your employer must suspend you on full pay for as long as necessary.

The joint guidance adds that farmers and livestock keepers have a responsibility to minimise the risks to pregnant women, including members of their family, the public and professional staff visiting farms. On a family farm, that includes you.

Tell your employer in writing, and tell them early, because the duty is triggered by being told.

If you have already been exposed

The action is symptom-led rather than exposure-led. Contact your GP or midwife if you develop fever or flu-like symptoms, or if you are worried you may have been exposed. Say specifically that you have had contact with lambing or calving, because that changes what a clinician tests for.

The NHS notes that if you are pregnant and test positive for Q fever, a GP can refer you for further tests to see whether your baby has been infected, and that this is very rare.

The short version

Stay out of the lambing shed, do not touch newborn or aborted lambs or anything they have been on, do not wash the overalls, and do not handle the sheep vaccines. Get someone else to do it. The risk is small but the guidance is unusually unanimous, and the exposure buys you nothing.