Eight Tips for Surviving Pregnancy & Postpartum While Sick
It’s winter. It’s germ season. And while the snow hasn’t come to visit us here in the northeast too often this year, it’s not spring quite yet and the illnesses are still making their rounds. When my first born was barely two weeks old, my husband and I came down with a horrible stomach bug that left us bedridden. I was freshly postpartum, a brand new mother, still learning to breastfeed, and absolutely terrified of putting my new baby and milk supply in danger. We made it through in a few short days with the help of family, but it taught me a lot about control and priorities for sure. In later pregnancies, I’ve also dealt with everything from COVID-19 to RSV and run of the mill colds. Being sick while pregnant sure is no joke, and if you’re feeling awful to begin with, it can really be detrimental. The reality of getting sick while you’re pregnant, postpartum, and/or breastfeeding happens to many of us. So if and when it does, how do you survive?! Here are our favorite tips, both from the nursing perspective and the real “been-there” mom experience:
1. Hydrate, hydrate hydrate. Drinking water during pregnancy and postpartum is always important, but it’s especially crucial when you’re under the weather. Dehydration can cause a host of issues during pregnancy like preterm contractions or issues with amniotic fluid volume. Not to mention that water keeps constipation at bay and your milk production steady while postpartum. If you’re breastfeeding while sick, know that it is safe and beneficial for baby to do so, but it certainly does come with the price of energy expended and fluid demanded. Whatever you can do to increase fluid intake while sick will help mitigate risk and help you feel better sooner. Add fruit, electrolytes, or whatever else entices you to drink more. Straw cups, room temperature water rather than ice cold, and beverages with bubbles are all other strategies for helping keep more fluid down when you’re not feeling your best.
2. Be in touch with your OB or midwife. Nurses make the worst patients, so learn from my mistakes and get in touch with your provider sooner rather than later. It’s important to communicate with them about what’s going on with your illness so they can make recommendations that keep you and your baby safe while you recover. IV fluids, an extra prenatal or postpartum appointment, or just a phone call to talk through symptoms to watch for can be helpful courses of action if they apply to you. Many medications are off limits during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, so they can also help you navigate what’s ok to take and what isn’t. Check in early and often and you’ll feel much more confident in keeping you and baby safe.
3. Monitor fevers closely. High fevers can be dangerous during pregnancy, so it’s important to keep an eye on your temperature when you’re dealing with an acute illness and be in touch with your OB provider about a threshold for safety. Additionally, fevers in newborn babies under a few months old are considered medical emergencies that need to be dealt with urgently. If you believe you’ve passed your illness on to your newborn, be in touch with their pediatrician as well.
4. Sleep whenever possible. Rest is one of the most important things to prioritize while sick, especially if you’re pregnant, postpartum, and/or breastfeeding. All of these states can come with a tendency towards extra energy expenditure and fatigue to begin with, even without a nasty bug ravaging your system. Get as much rest as possible and you’ll be that much closer to feeling like yourself again.
5. Return to food slowly as you’re able, following the BRAT diet. If the illness you’re dealing with presents with any GI symptoms like vomiting or diarrhea, it can be difficult or even impossible to keep food down. We know that feeding ourselves properly during pregnancy and postpartum is crucial, so as soon as you’re feeling up for it, try to keep some food down. Starting slow and using a BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet or other foods that are gentle on the stomach is a good way to go. Avoid anything fried, spicy, or greasy, and anything with dairy or a lot of protein to start. Those things will all be harder on the stomach and aren’t as likely to stay down at first.
6. Take your prenatal vitamins. We’ve already established that you’re probably not feeling quite up to eating your normal diet while sick, so prioritize taking your prenatal vitamins during this time if you’re able to keep them down. The nutrients they contain will help supplement what’s lacking in your diet until you’re able to fully recover and resume normal eating habits. If you’re not able to keep them down, this would be another great time to get in touch with your OB provider and let them know.
7. Use safe alternatives to medication when needed. Since there are so many pharmaceutical products that are off-limits while pregnant and/or breastfeeding, it can feel like you’re just left to suffer through the symptoms of your illness. Alternative therapies can be used appropriately at this time to help keep you as comfortable as possible until you’re feeling better. Things like humidifiers, steamy showers, saline drops, and chest rubs for congestion can all be helpful tools for sleeping comfortably. Warm peppermint tea, anti-nausea wrist bands, and ginger can be used to help keep an upset stomach under control. If you’re unsure about whether an alternative or holistic remedy is safe, be sure to contact your provider to double check.
8. Eliminate nonessential tasks. Now is not the time to feel guilty about setting aside all the tasks on your nesting to-do list or turning away the visitors that are dying to see your new baby. It’s the time to pair down to only essential tasks. Feed the dog, yes. Vacuum the crown molding, no. This is also a great time to call on the troops. The friends and family you know would drop anything for you and bring you a meal, throw a load of laundry in, take your older kids to the park, pet sit for the week, whatever you need to happen in order to prioritize your health and your baby’s wellbeing. If you’ve taken our course or downloaded and filled out our free postpartum planner, we suspect the people you named there as your village will be the same people you should call on now. People want to help; they often just don’t know when or how. Now is the time and you’ve got needs, so ask for them!
