You cough during your pregnancy period and wonder whether it is harmful to your baby. If you want to get some useful information then you have come to the right place.
In this article, we are going to share some important facts that you need to know about how exactly coughing can hurt or even cause problems for your unborn baby and how it doesn’t, and what are false preconceived notions.
Finally, we will also share with you some useful tips on how you can prevent coughing during pregnancy.
Can coughing during pregnancy cause pain or be harmful to your baby?
If you want to get the answer in a word well unfortunately there is no straight answer first of all. Mostly there is another question that needs to be asked along with this question to make it more relevant and sensing.
The thing is you need to check exactly what type of coughing is it. Is it chronic coughing? Is it whooping coughing? Or is it a wet cough with phlegm? And guess what depending on the type of cough you are having the answers will vary too.
Generally, coughing does not harm the baby in any way but intense coughing can surely hurt the mother of the child. Intense coughing does not lead to uterine contractions and nor does it displace the placenta. So while your baby does not generally have in general any chances of getting hurt the mother during intense coughing may suffer from abdominal pain.
The best recommendation for pregnant women is to visit a doctor whenever they catch a cold. Do not take just about any over-the-counter medicines or any brand of cough syrups at this point without speaking to the doctor as this can complicate things.
However, if you are suffering from pre-existing diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia at t the time of your pregnancy make sure to inform the doctor right at the start of being under their observation for the entire gestation period.
When do you need to go to the doctor while coughing?
We generally recommend patients go right from the outset of coughing symptoms. This will prevent you from making the cough even worse as the doctor is going to recommend you a suitable medication to cure the cough or check it at least such that it does not get any severe.
Generally, the symptoms when you must visit the doctor on coughing include- persistent cough, coughing with blood emission, cough with phlegm, shortness, or difficulty in breathing normally.
You see the doctor is going to examine you in such cases and if need be they can recommend going for chest x-rays. Or else the doctor might recommend you a safe cough syrup or an antibiotic to get well soon enough.
What type of coughing is considered dangerous for your baby?
Cough with phlegm
One type of coughing during pregnancy is a cough with phlegm which is mucus secreted while coughing is to be noted. Avoid using genera cough syrups as they would reduce the cough only but in this case, it is necessary for you to look for medications that prevent secretions from the airways and lungs.
Dry cough
Dry cough can initiate due to being in polluted air or due to asthma attacks. The curative ways for both types of cough will vary.
If your cough is getting initiated because of being exposed to the polluted or cold air too much then stay indoors in a warmer and pure air environment. If the cough is being triggered due to an asthma attack then visit the doctor and find out if you can take any suitable asthma preventive inhaler.
Cough with fever
If you are having a cough with fever then visit a general practitioner and find out any brand of suitable antibiotic that you can take to cure the fever and the cough as well.
Can you take cough syrups during pregnancy?
Yes, it is probably safe to take a cough syrup during your pregnancy period to cure the coughing but then these recommendations must come from the end of the doctor. You see, complications may arise from using just about any brand of oral cough syrup.
For example, it is safe to consider having a cough syrup that only the doctor recommends so avoid choosing a cough syrup on your own without consulting the doctor. At times it is also safe to consume an antihistamine medicine or pills like cetirizine. But here also the final recommendation must come from the doctor’s end.
How to keep coughing low?
Take a flu shot
If you have problems suffering from seasonal flu then visit a doctor and find out if during the changing season having a flu shot is safe or not. Sometimes you might catch common cold or fever way too easily during the changing seasons and be affected by flu wherein a flu shot will help.
Stay away from polluted air, dry air, and cold air
Try and stay away from polluted air, dry air, and cold air if possible. We recommend that you buy a humidifier in your home and use it while staying indoors. We also recommend you keep your head on a pillow while having sleeping or resting.
Home remedies for curing cough best for pregnant women
When you are pregnant and prone to coughing the best homemade remedy is to boil a cup of water and pour two spoons of honey in it. stir it well with a spoon and just drink it. Make sure that doesn’t heat the water too much and just drink it in a lukewarm stage.
Take rest
Having rest indoors is the best remedy as well. you see when you take rest your body gets time to recover and de-stress and this is particularly important during the final few months into your gestation period.
Drink lots of fluids
You need to take in fluids constantly. We recommend you to have at least 2 liters of water daily. Also, try and have enough glucose to maintain energy levels or drink at least one glass of oral rehydration solution daily.
