Falling ill during pregnancy can be especially stressful, particularly when common symptoms such as a sore throat, nasal congestion, headaches, and a runny nose begin to appear. For many expectant mothers, it can be difficult to tell whether they are dealing with a seasonal cold, flu, or another infection, and uncertainty around which medications are safe to take during pregnancy often adds to the anxiety.
While waiting to hear back from a healthcare provider, concerns about managing symptoms safely and avoiding potential risks to the baby can quickly become overwhelming, especially ahead of a weekend or after-hours period when medical guidance may be harder to access.
A cold is caused by one of more than 200 viruses. Colds can spread easily from person to person. Symptoms can include sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, sneezing and coughing, headache, and muscle aches. For healthy pregnant women, a cold infection is not associated with a higher risk of them or their baby developing the infection. There is no testing for a cold. Generally, colds are treated with over-the-counter medications.
Influenza, often called “the flu,” is an illness caused by a virus. Flu symptoms include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, body aches, and tiredness. Pregnant women and their pregnancy are at a higher risk of flu. Flu testing is available at the doctor’s office and at some pharmacies.
Most healthcare providers recommend acetaminophen to treat fever, headache, and body pain in pregnancy. Studies on acetaminophen use during pregnancy have not shown a higher risk to the developing baby when it is used as directed for a short time. A high fever that is untreated in pregnancy increases the chance of birth defects. A temperature of 101°F that lasts for over 24 hours early in pregnancy may increase the risk for a birth defect of the spine.
Over-the-Counter and Self-care Treatments
In pregnancy, it is best to take an alcohol-free medication that contains only those ingredients that address the specific symptoms. For example, if the only symptom is body aches, taking a multi-symptom medication for congestion, cough, and body aches would mean unnecessarily exposing yourself and the developing baby to medications.
Medication for Cough
Because many cough syrups can contain up to 10% alcohol, it is important to select an alcohol-free cough syrup. Cough syrups may also contain ingredients for a stuffy nose or pain. If the only issue is a cough, taking the medication with the fewest ingredients is preferred to minimize the exposure to the pregnancy. During pregnancy, it is recommended to also limit vitamins to those in the prenatal category unless recommended by the healthcare provider.
Tea and Honey
Honey and warm tea may help soothe a sore throat and loosen mucus during pregnancy. Herbal and decaf teas are generally safe, while black, green, and white teas may contain caffeine. Pregnant women should limit total caffeine intake to 200 mg per day from all sources, so it is important to check tea labels for caffeine content.
Medications for Nasal Congestion
A stuffy nose can cause painful sinuses and make it less enjoyable to eat and harder to sleep. Taking an oral decongestant means that your developing baby will be exposed to the medication. Nasal sprays reduce the chance of exposure to your baby, depending on the frequency of use and dose. Always read the labels and take them as directed.
Humidifiers
It is used to add moisture to the air and provide relief from sinus pressure, dry skin, and a sore throat. They use only water, so there is no medication exposure. It is important to keep humidifiers clean to avoid the risk of putting mold and bacteria into the air, which could then cause allergies.
Remedies to Avoid
When you feel a cold coming on, you could be tempted to reach for vitamin C and zinc. This is not recommended during pregnancy. First, there is not enough evidence that vitamin C or zinc helps in preventing or treating colds. Second, the doses of vitamin C and zinc in supplements for colds are higher than recommended doses for pregnant women.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
For most healthy pregnant women, over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin are generally not recommended during pregnancy. Although low-dose aspirin is sometimes recommended in pregnancy under a doctor’s supervision to treat or prevent specific medical conditions, regular strength aspirin and other NSAIDs are not typically recommended for treating pain or fever in pregnancy.
Herbal products
Many herbal supplements marketed for treating colds and flu have not been studied in pregnancy, so the possible risks are not known. In addition, the benefits of using herbal supplements are not always proven.
Prevention
Vaccination is key and the best tool that we have for preventing flu and COVID-19, or reducing the severity of the symptoms if you do get infected. Studies involving many thousands of pregnant women have not shown a higher risk of birth defects or complications.
For more information, please visit the Mothertobaby website.
