Research-backed
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With the changing seasons, we are about to embrace the onset of the winter months. It is a season to enjoy great food and piping hot beverages. But the change of season also brings in a lot of illness bugs that can cause diseases such as cold and flu. Therefore, one must be careful and take preventive measures, especially if they areexpecting a baby.
Here we present you with some handy information that will guide you in staying healthy and safe during your pregnancy months.
Potential Dangers Of Catching Flu
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During the winters, you will find the flu bugs everywhere- at home, at the office, at your child’s school, in public transport, in the supermarkets-literally everywhere.And when you are expecting, your immunity takes a back seat with every progressing trimester, making your chances of catching a virus high (1).
So, what are the risks associated with catching a cold and flu?
- The flu may be more severe in your case, due to a compromised immune system. Apart from high fever, the symptoms could include a stuffy nose, sore throat, fatigue, coughing, breathlessness, dehydration, muscular pain, nausea ordiarrhea,etc.
- It could result into more harmful forms of infection like bronchitis or pneumonia.
- The episodes of flu during pregnancy increase the chances of complications like miscarriages, pre-term births and low birth -weight.
Get The Flu Vaccine
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One of the safest ways to stay safe during the winter months is to get vaccinated against the flu.WHO recommends that flu vaccine should be administered to susceptible groups to avoid flu-related complications.
Moreover, the flu virus changes its genetic composition every year and therefore, it is essential that the vulnerable groups with low immune system, including pregnant women, take the shot.
How To Stay Safe
There are some ways by which you can stay safe from seasonal illnesses during your winter pregnancy. Let’s take a look at them!
1. Move About
Just because its winter and you’re pregnantdoesn’t mean that youhave to sit all covered up inside your home. Experts say that moderate exercise keeps your body, mind and your immunity considerably healthier.
Do any pregnancy friendly activity that makes you happy and keeps your body active,including swimming, yoga, walking, aerobics and so on.
2. Eat Safe
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Eating well is very important during pregnancy. However, just because people say that you have to eat for two, don’t follow that advice blindly and increase your pregnancy weight as that may lead to other complications.
At the same time, don’t under-nourish yourself either. Consume a healthy diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably seasonal, andespecially the ones rich in Vitamin C. Avoid certain sea-foods or soft cheeses that may contain bacteria (3).
3. Stay Hydrated
Drink plenty of water to keep yourself and your baby adequately hydrated. During pregnancy, the volume of blood increases in your body and the kidneys and heart must work overtime to keep the body fit for the growing baby and its needs.
Proper fluid supply ensures that all the organs work efficiently and if there are any bugs, they are flushed out of your system.Moreover, you feel less thirsty in the winters, and your increased body heat may also contribute to dehydration. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to the amount of water you consume in a day.
4. Clean Living
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When you’re pregnant, alcohol and smoking (either active or passive)are an absolute NO. In case you get the flu-bug, then smoking can aggravate it, as it harms your air-passages, lungs, respiratory tract and immunity in generalmaking a recovery difficult (4).
Similarly, alcohol also causes dehydration and negatively impacts the immunity functions (which are already low during pregnancy) in the body. (5)
5. Mental Health
Winters could get gloomy; you have to keep your spirits up. A happy and positive state of mind helps the body function better than an anxiety-stricken emotionally vulnerable mindset because stress affects the immune system. (6)
Therefore, make sure to surround yourself with positive thoughts and people, to help keep diseases at bay by maintaining an optimal state of mind!
6. Multi-vitamins
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Don’t pop in multivitamins indiscriminately by considering them to be your shield against flu or other illnesses.
Multivitaminsare usually recommended for those who are severely undernourished or have a vitamin deficiency. So unless you’re medically directed to have multi-vitamins, having a balanced diet is a much better dietary choice.An excess of vitamins, can by itself cause toxicity as well. (7)
These were some useful tips to help you fight against any possibility of flu during the winters. A healthy lifestyle and balanced diet should be enough to keep those germs away and to ensure a quick recovery even if you do end up catchingthe flu. Stay safe!
