Some women are more prone to catching cold during pregnancy. As soon as the winter approaches, there are cases of pregnant women catching cough and cold. It is important that you take care of your body during this time and not fall sick.

What is common cold?

Common cold is basically a viral infection which is highly contagious. There are more than  hundreds of viruses causing cold, but none of them pose any considerable risk to you or your developing baby.

Your throat can become sore and irritated due to cold. Other discomforts include runny or stuffy nose, repeated sneezing and/or cough, and mild headache. You might even have a slight earache or high temperature in worst cases. 

Why am I prone to cough and cold bouts during pregnancy?

Now that you are pregnant, you may be extremely worried about the health of your baby. Well, there is no need to worry about. Your body catches infections like cold, and flu because your immunity level is slightly lowered during pregnancy. As the immune system is not strong enough, it can easily catch infection if you are in close proximity of an infected person.

It is important that you take good care of your body and build up your immunity by having a good diet. Else you could end up catching one infection after another in a quick succession.

What should I do to keep my immunity strong?

In order to keep your immunity system strong, you must have a balanced and nutritious diet. Include a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. Fruits such as oranges, gooseberry and lemon are natural sources of vitamin C, which is well-known to fight the infections.

Get regular exercise and be hygienic. Do not smoke as it is known to wear down your immunity. Same is the case with your stress level. Always ensure that your body gets proper rest and you have mental peace as stress weakens your immunity.

How to treat cold during pregnancy?

It is important to know that the pills you took to treat common cold earlier could not be safe for the health of your baby now. Try using some simple remedies in such cases instead of popping medicines.

Try nasal sprays and inhale steam get relief. Another tip to treat your sore throat is to have a cup of hot water with lemon and honey.

Which medications are safe?

• Vitamin C is known to be useful in treating cold. However, large doses of this vitamin supplement must not be taken. It is a water soluble vitamin and all of it will not be absorbed by your body.

• Antibiotics can be taken as most of them are considered safe, but not all. Hence it is important that you never take any medicine on your own, without consulting your doctor.

• Painkillers should be avoided. Some of the painkillers, like aspirin, could affect the development of your baby. Do not be tempted to take any medicine without prescription.

When to contact your doctor?

Most of the times, common cold goes away on its own after few days. However, if you seem to have an infection for a couple of weeks without getting better, you must tell your doctor. Also, if the cold is accompanied by high fever, or any other secondary infection, it might point to some serious complications. If you are feeling dizzy, nauseated or depleted all the time, or the fever is over 101 degrees, get it treated by the doctor right away.