Torch vaccine that must be done before marriage and pregnancy

There are many preparations that a woman must complete before getting married and planning a pregnancy. One of them is the fulfillment of the TORCH vaccine. The TORCH vaccine is a "weapon" for women to fight four types of viruses that can endanger the health of their bodies during pregnancy, as well as the safety of the fetus.

What diseases are included in TORCH?

TORCH stands for toksoplasmosis, rubella (German measles), cytomegalovirus, and herpes. Each of these diseases can endanger the safety of pregnant women and the fetus in the womb. The virus can travel in your blood and enter your baby so that he or she can get the same infection.

Moreover, the fetus in the womb is still in the development stage so that the immune system is unlikely to be able to fight viral infections. If a viral infection attacks the fetus in the womb, its organs may not develop normally.

The following is a more complete explanation.

1. Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by parasites Toxoplasma gondii. This disease is generally not dangerous, but will be very dangerous if it attacks pregnant women.

This disease can be transmitted when we eat meat from infected animals that have not been cooked (especially sheep and pigs) or through contact with cat feces or cat litter if the cat is infected.

Toxoplasma infection can be caught when you eat raw or undercooked meat from infected animals (especially sheep and pork), or through contact with cat feces if your pet is infected.

If a pregnant woman is infected at an early stage of pregnancy, there is a great risk of experiencing miscarriage, stillbirth (stillbirth), or give birth to a baby with disabilities

This disease can also be transmitted from mother to baby during pregnancy. The parasite that causes toxoplasma can infect the placenta, causing the baby to be born with brain damage.

2. Rubella

Rubella is a contagious disease caused by a virus rubella. This infection is also known as German measles. This virus is transmitted from one person to another through contact with fluids from the nose and throat of people with rubella.

German measles is very dangerous for pregnant women. If a pregnant woman is infected with rubella, especially in the first 4 months of pregnancy, the baby is at risk of having birth defects or even stillbirth.

This virus causes babies born to experience cataracts, deafness, abnormalities of vital organs (heart, liver, lungs) and developmental delays. Congenital rubella syndrome in the fetus in medical language is referred to as Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS).

However, this risk will depend on how long you have been infected with the virus. The risk is highest during the early stages or within 12 weeks of the baby in the womb.

3. Cytomegalovirus

Pregnant women infected with cytomegalovirus rarely show symptoms in the first place. However, if the immune system is weak, symptoms such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and loss of appetite will likely appear.

Cytomegalovirus can be dangerous for the baby if it attacks the mother for the first time. About a third of pregnant women who are first infected with this virus will pass the disease on to the unborn baby.

Babies infected with this virus during the womb can be stillborn if the infection occurs in early pregnancy. Other disorders that can be experienced by babies with congenital cytomegalovirus are central nervous system disorders, limited growth, smaller head size, enlarged spleen and liver, and jaundice.

Long-term health problems can also arise in infected babies, such as hearing loss, vision problems, intellectual disabilities, and other neurological disorders.

4. Herpes

Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by a virus. There are two types of viruses that can cause herpes, namely the herpes simplex virus type 1 and the herpes simplex type 2 virus.

Pregnant women with herpes can transmit it to their baby through normal delivery, because the baby is exposed to the herpes virus through the vaginal wall. The risk of transmission to the baby is greater when pregnant women are infected with the herpes virus in the third trimester of pregnancy. The reason is, the closer to the time of birth, the more late it is for the mother to produce antibodies that can protect her baby from the virus.

Your doctor may recommend a cesarean section if pregnant women are infected with the herpes virus late in pregnancy. Thus, the baby is not exposed to the herpes virus that is around your vagina.

If you are infected with the herpes virus in the first trimester of pregnancy, the risk that could occur is a miscarriage or birth defects. However, there is another possibility that the baby is protected from herpes because the mother's immune system produces special antibodies to fight the herpes virus.

When to do the TORCH vaccine?

The TORCH vaccine is a type of vaccine that can help women avoid the four infections above. However, the schedule for getting this vaccine should not be at will. There are several vaccines that you shouldn't get while you are already pregnant, and TORCH is one of them.

Vaccination is carried out by inserting live or dead viruses that have been tamed. It is feared that inserting a live, benign virus will also affect the growth and development of the fetus in the womb even though the initial goal is to prevent disease.

Therefore, this vaccine should be obtained before marriage or several months before starting a pregnancy program. After getting the vaccine, you also have to postpone the pregnancy plan for 2 months so that the vaccine works optimally in the body and later it doesn't endanger your pregnancy.

How can you prevent this infection while pregnant?

There are several things that can be done to prevent TORCH virus infection in pregnant women. Here's what you can do:

Avoid eating raw and undercooked meat while pregnant.
Make sure pregnant women eat clean and healthy food.
It is obligatory to wash hands before and after activities, especially after gardening or touching the ground.
Avoid direct contact with cat or dog litter.
Do not share personal items such as razors or toothbrushes with other people while pregnant.
Avoid getting tattoos or body piercing while pregnant.
Avoid eating chocolate, peanuts, peanut butter, and stress which can cause genital herpes in pregnant women to recur.