You’ve probably already noticed that your immune system is at an all time low during pregnancy. Perhaps you have previously gloated that you ‘never get ill’, and now seem to be constantly fighting the sniffles. You may feel like all it takes is someone to sneeze in the same town as you, and you’ll spend the next two weeks in bed with a head cold.

It’s important to check all medicines are safe to use during pregnancy, and sadly with a cold, you may find that many aren’t. You should always check with your healthcare provider before taking a medicine during pregnancy. Sadly, you may find many of your go-to cold medicines are not suitable for use in pregnancy. Decongestants are considered unsafe for use during the first trimester, and experts disagree over whether they are safe later in the pregnancy.

To avoid using decongestants and other drug-based treatments altogether, give the following natural cold treatments a try:

• Natural decongestants – to try getting rid of your stuffy nose without reverting to hard drugs, you could use eucalyptus as a natural decongestant. Try placing a few drops of eucalyptus oil in an oil burner to help you breathe more easily. You could also try soaking in the bath, or having a nice hot shower, to let the steam work its magic on your sinuses.
• Natural throat soothers – to rid yourself of your raw, sore throat, try a soothing hot drink. Boil the kettle, and add about one teaspoon of freshly grated ginger to a teapot. Add the water, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Decant into your favourite mug, and add a teaspoon of lemon juice and about a teaspoon of the sweetener of your choice (for example, honey, syrup or agave).
• Natural remedy for a cough – if your scratchy throat is keeping you coughing through the night, try gargling with salt and water. This may help to relieve the soreness in your throat, and prevent more coughing fits.
• Speed up recovery – to give yourself a fighting chance of being better by the weekend, make sure you get plenty of rest. You should also be sure to eat healthily and drink enough water to increase your chance of a speedy recovery.

If you are suffering from a fever, you may want to use medication to try and bring down your temperature. Check with your pharmacist or healthcare provider to find out which medications are safe to use during pregnancy.

What are your tried and tested natural cold treatments during pregnancy?

Written by Fiona, proud owner of a toddler, @fiona_peacock

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

Babies are not famed for their rock hard immune systems, so you may be wondering what steps you can take to keep your baby healthy during cold and flu season. Looking after a poorly baby isn’t much fun, babies get pretty miserable when they’re suffering from stuffy noses, weepy eyes and fevers. A poorly baby may struggle to sleep well and probably won’t want to be put down, meaning you’ll be feeling touched out and exhausted. To try and avoid that, there are a few things you can do to try and keep your baby healthy:

1. Stay away from poorly people

This one sounds easy enough, but during the winter months, poorly people are everywhere. If you want to reduce the risk of your baby getting ill, be upfront with potential visitors that you’d rather not expose your baby to germs and viruses. This should encourage poorly people to stay away. You can also request that people wash their hands before touching or holding the baby as a way of limiting the spread of germs.

2. Teach your older child about handwashing

If you have any older child who attends school or nursery, they’re likely to be a walking petri-dish of germs. If you want to try and prevent your baby from getting sick, you’ll need to educate your older child about how important it is to wash your hands before touching the baby. You’ll also have to stress the importance of not coughing or sneezing around the baby. With older children around, trying to keep your baby germ-free will be even more of a challenge.

3. Keep breastfeeding

Young babies don’t have much in the way of immune systems, but breastfeeding is a great way to help keep your baby healthy. Through breastfeeding, your baby will receive some of your immunities which may help to protect her from some of the viruses going around at the moment. Also, and prepare to be amazed by the genius of your body here, your breast milk contains antibodies to any germs your baby may have picked up. Scientists think that at each feed, a small amount of your baby’s saliva is absorbed into your body, if any bacteria or viruses are discovered, your body will start producing the necessary antibodies and these will be delivered to your baby via breast milk. Pretty impressive, right?

4. Encourage a healthy lifestyle

People function best when they’re eating healthy foods, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep. Ensuring your baby is enjoying all of these components of a healthy lifestyle could go some way to boosting their immune system. When your baby is old enough to start on solid foods, make sure you offer a healthy, balanced diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables and greens.

The above tips may help to keep your baby healthy, but in reality, your baby is likely to encounter a few sniffles along the way. Your baby has an immature immune system and is at an increased risk of catching any bugs going round. You can follow the steps above to try and keep your baby healthy, but remember it’s not possible to completely eradicate the risk of your baby catching a cold.

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

If you’re feeling unwell, you may be worried about whether it’s safe to continue breastfeeding your baby. Many mamas worry that perhaps they shouldn’t feed their baby when they’re ill. However, in reality, there are very few instances in which illness may require you to stop breastfeeding your child (e.g. HIV, active tuberculosis, HTLV-1, HTLV-2).

Assuming you aren’t suffering from any of these conditions, you should be fine to continue breastfeeding your baby for the duration of the illness.

Will breastfeeding make my baby sick?

If you’re suffering from a cold or flu illness, you may worry about whether your breast milk will contain the virus. It won’t, so don’t worry. Not only that, because your milk contains the antibodies your body is busy producing to fight the infection, your baby will actually get this extra boost of immunity to protect her from the illness.

Do I need to take any precautions?

If you are prescribed medication to treat the illness, make sure you tell the doctor that you’re breastfeeding. Your doctor will need to check that the medication he or she prescribes is suitable for breastfeeding mothers. Most medication is suitable for breastfeeding mothers, but it’s always worth checking just in case.

If you have a sickness and diarrhoea bug, you need to make sure you’re drinking plenty of water. It’s easy to become dehydrated, especially when you’re breastfeeding, so make sure you keep your fluid levels up.

To minimize the risk of your baby getting ill, take the usual precautions. Wash your hands often, cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough, and try not to kiss your baby near the mouth.

If you’re feeling rubbish, it’s important to take care of yourself and allow yourself time to rest. If you’re really unwell, you might need somebody else to stay home and help with the baby. That will give you the opportunity to get some sleep between feeds, and put someone else in charge of diaper changes for a little while. If your partner is unable to take the day off work, ask a family member or friend to pop round for a few hours and help out.

Remember to keep breastfeeding on demand, a drastic reductions in the number of feeds each day could begin to affect your supply.

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.