Why Do You Have a Dog When You're Pregnant? Can Pregnant Women Really Not Raise Cats and Dogs? Scientific Experiments Give You the Answer

Chloe is a black Labrador, almost two years old, originally the 'little girl' of the house, docile and obedient, loved by the family, but a year ago, the owner had a baby, and Chloe became a 'sister'.

At the beginning, when the owner returned home after giving birth, he was worried about Chloe hurting the baby, because Chloe's physique is large, but surprisingly, Chloe took the initiative to take on the responsibility of a nanny, and was particularly diligent.

She would gently step on her feet while watching the baby, when she was tired, she would lean her head against the baby's bedside, moving gently. Even if Chloe sometimes made mischief, the baby would only sneakily make a little mess, not running around and making noise.

When the baby cried, it would immediately run to check the situation, and it knew how to sniff the baby to see if it had diarrhea or had a runny nose. When it saw the baby lying on the edge of the bed, it would use its head to push the baby into the bed.

Chloe's care for the baby can be summarized as: 'sleeping to coax, crying to hold, tired to lean'.

As the baby grows up, Chloe and the human baby are inseparable, and their relationship is getting closer. The owner even felt jealous: 'Who is the baby's, is it mine or yours?'

I occasionally see posts on my WeChat circle asking for good people to adopt 'animal babies,' mostly because 'I'm pregnant and can't raise pets,' or 'I have a child, I'm afraid the child will be injured' etc.

However, in 2018, Guangzhou's 'Healthy 100FUN' program, hosted by CCTV, invited a domestic respiratory medicine expert team, and that team was led by Professor Zhong Nanshan.

The experts proposed: 'Parents should consider raising pets at home.'

Because the team's research found that

Children in rural areas have a lower incidence of asthma than urban children. The reason they found was that urban children's living environment is too clean, and they have less allergens to adapt to.

Perhaps some people still think it's not realistic, but I will now list some studies and surveys to discuss whether pregnant women and families with children can raise pets.

The international journal PNAS (published a research report in the recent issue, scientists from the Colorado University and several institutions did a research, and they got similar research results with Professor Zhong Nanshan's team)

Their research found that

Compared with urban residents who are free to keep pets, children who grow up in rural environments may have more resistance and immunity, and their risk of mental illness may be lower.

At the same time, the researchers pointed out that pets can help children's physical and mental health and guide children's social and emotional development positively.

In simple terms, children who keep pets have a stronger immune system and are less prone to mental problems.

I often see videos on Douyin, their family has a golden retriever and several cats, and a cute little girl. The girl often sits with the dog in front of the window, or lies on the dog's body, and the dog doesn't resist but willingly.

When I saw this, I understood the findings of the 'China Mental Health Magazine' survey in 2007.

Researchers randomly selected more than 300 families in Beijing, and found that children who raised dogs had obvious differences in social and emotional aspects compared to children who didn't raise dogs.When alone at home

Children who raise dogs: 12.0% feel lonely at home, 80.2% do not feel lonely.

Children who don't raise dogs: 38.7% feel lonely at home, 52.2% do not feel lonely.

When letting the child share

Children who raise dogs: 82.2% actively share, 14.7% share only with people they like;

Children who don't raise dogs: 72.8% actively share, 25.7% share only with people they like;

When taking care of a younger child

Children who raise dogs: 40.1% are willing, 49.7% are willing, 10.2% are unwilling

Children who don't raise dogs: 23.7% are willing, 47.4% are willing, 28.9% are unwilling

These three aspects, children who keep dogs have a happier childhood, won't be lonely, and will be more willing to share and take care of other children.

After seeing these data, do you still think children and pets cannot coexist?

Families often say:

'How can the child be close to the pet? It's easy to get sick!'

'You're already pregnant, don't raise cats and dogs, it will harm the child, will the child be deformed?'

After seeing these data and cases, the conclusion is:

Families with dogs, children's physical and mental health are better

Regarding whether pregnant women and families can raise cats and dogs, CCTV News published a long infographic early on to explain to pregnant women and families the suitable conditions for raising pets and explained the risk of toxoplasmosis, and finally stated that it is very low, so the rumor that 'pregnant women cannot raise cats and dogs' is unfounded.

However, I want to state one thing,

I wrote this article not to let families who are planning to have children or are pregnant to raise pets for their children, because for families who don't like animals, it is difficult for them to give the animals to others, but in the end, due to family pressure, the animals are given away, so the pregnant woman feels sad and helpless.If there are cats and dogs in the family before pregnancy, during pregnancy or after the birth of the child, pets should be vaccinated regularly, and the pets should be bathed regularly.

I hope everyone can rationally treat their own and their children's health, and the relationship between them and their pets, and stop spreading rumors.