What to do if you have a fever when you are pregnant

The body will be very unstable after pregnancy. It is easy to experience fever, dizziness, headache and other phenomena. During pregnancy, you must use some reasonable methods to adjust your body. The method of dealing with fever just after pregnancy is very simple. First, perform physical fever reduction. If physical treatment is not effective, go to the hospital for examination. Medication is not recommended because it will harm the baby.

What to do if a pregnant woman has a fever

1. Find out the cause of the fever and take into account nutrition and rest. In addition to finding out the cause of the fever, it is necessary for pregnant women to reduce the fever moderately. Fever often increases the mother's metabolic rate and is accompanied by many uncomfortable symptoms such as headache, loss of appetite, general fatigue, palpitations, and even dehydration, which increase the burden on the pregnant woman's cardiopulmonary function. Therefore, you should choose moderate fever reduction. Generally speaking, if the pregnant woman's body temperature is not higher than 38.5 degrees Celsius and there are no obvious discomfort symptoms, you can consider using physical methods to help reduce the fever, such as: ice pillow, heat dissipation patch, warm water wiping, such as wiping the body repeatedly with a warm towel, placing ice packs in the armpits, forehead and groin, etc.

2. Use of antipyretics: Try not to use them. As for when to consider using drugs, it varies from person to person. However, if the body temperature is above 38.5 degrees Celsius and accompanied by uncomfortable symptoms, you can consider using drugs under the guidance of a doctor, otherwise it will harm the fetus.

3. It must be reiterated that the pathogen that causes fever itself is more harmful to the mother and fetus than the fever itself. Therefore, when a pregnant woman has a fever, it is important to find out the cause of the fever and prescribe the right medicine, which is more important than simply reducing the fever. If the fever is generally caused by a cold, the prognosis should be very good for both the mother and the fetus.

Will a fever during pregnancy affect the fetus?

If it is only a short-term mild fever, it generally does not cause harm to the mother or fetus. However, some studies have found that during the 5th to 6th week of pregnancy (3rd to 4th week of conception), which is the period of neural tube development, if the pregnant woman's body temperature is higher than 38.9 degrees Celsius and lasts for more than 24 hours, it will increase the chance of the fetus developing a neural tube defect (such as anencephaly). In addition, pregnant women with high fever have a faster heartbeat, which in turn causes the fetus' heartbeat to speed up, causing adverse effects on the fetus. High fever can also stimulate the uterus, causing uterine contractions, leading to premature birth or miscarriage, and may also cause fetal death.

But it must be emphasized that very few pregnant women would allow their body temperature to rise so high and last for such a long time without treatment.

Therefore, the harm caused by fever to the fetus or mother is not greater than the harm caused by the cause of the disease itself. For example, if the fever is caused by German measles infection, the harm caused by the virus to the fetus (such as deformity) will far exceed the heat damage caused by the fever itself. In this case, of course we must find the root cause of the disease, prescribe the right medicine, and avoid more serious harm.

After the first trimester, a fever caused by influenza will not cause direct harm to your baby. However, pregnant women can become very ill from the flu, so it is best to get a flu shot before you become pregnant to prevent it. But if the pregnant woman is in good health, common colds and fevers during pregnancy will not have much impact on the pregnant woman or the fetus.