Gkamom, I've been looking into this as well, as I'd like to have more children. I've found there is really limited information available. Lots of papers to read through in medicalese, but most are very small and mostly old studies. Check out this link:
lymediseasechallenge.org/pregnancy-children/The short of it seems to be that babes born to moms with long-standing lyme infections have a 50/50 chance of getting it in utero. If mom is bitten by a tick WHILE pregnant the chances of baby getting it shoot WAY up. If mom knows she has lyme and takes low-dose antibiotics while preggers, there is a 0-25% chance of passing it to the baby. This is my very rough summary of what I've been able to find online so far.
My only child was born before I had a diagnosis. I had been a college athlete but was deathly ill during the whole pregnancy--extreme nausea and exhaustion--and I couldn't gain weight. Only 11 pounds!!! But she was born 8.5 pounds, beautiful & healthy. Now that I know I had lyme even back then I've thought about
a few things:
--she took her first plane ride from Hawai'i to Los Angeles at 6 months old to meet her dad's family and developed her first cold that never seemed to go away. Docs said it was rhinitis--constant runny nose for no reason, and that she would outgrow it at adolescence. She did, thank goodness!
--she had thrush a few times as a baby, totally normal. It turned into "geographic tongue", benign patches where her tastebuds looked to be missing. This would come and go and finally went away in her teens as well.
--she had extreme reactions to vaccines at 1 year old: high fevers for days on end, huge lumps under her skin at the injection sites that felt like rocks and lasted for MONTHS. Sooooo scary!
--she has allergies to cats and dogs but no one else in the whole family does.
--she complained of back pain in her car seat and booster seat growing up. She had "growing pains" too.
--as a kid AND a teen she shows LACK OF EMOTION instead of lyme rage. We are all stoic in my family but I have often wondered where she gets this extreme lack of emotion, unwillingness to be
open or talk with me about
life, unwillingness to be affected by family members' deaths, etc. Maybe it's just coping and being a mature smart kid....
--Other than these few things, she's been a very healthy kid. She was identified as Gifted/Talented at 4 years old, has always been in advanced academic classes, tons of friends, an athlete, a comic, a musician & singer/songwriter/music producer. A gem of a child, except the lack of emotion with me.
Now I've asked my LLMD if I should get her tested. He says "No". His reasoning is that even if she does have Lyme her immune system has kept it in check all these years, despite a few minor childhood illnesses. He says if we treat it now it could trigger her immune system to start fighting the lyme, which would make the lyme fight back, and we all know that can be an ugly long drawn-out battle. He says to allow her to go through life and ONLY if she starts to show more typical lyme symptoms AND is not able to have normal everyday life should I get her tested. **And she's seen what I've been going through with treatment and has NO interest in finding out if she has it or not.**
I know this was long and maybe too detailed, but I hope it helped you in some way. I'd encourage you to get the IGeneX test for yourself, as you at 16 sounds like me at 16. Good luck!
Maui