Stomach Bugs During Pregnancy: A Survival Guide

Pregnancy can be a bit of a roller coaster.

What with morning sickness (that lasts all day), random aches and pains and not to mention tiredness, the last thing you need is a stomach bug! The good news is, catching a stomach bug, also known as gastroenteritis, won't harm your baby, the not-so-good news is that it's still pretty unpleasant.

Annoyingly, pregnancy can weaken your immune system, meaning that if there is a stomach bug going around there is a good chance you might catch it. We've gathered some key info about gastroenteritis in pregnancy to help you spot the symptoms, and what do to if you do catch the virus.

If you would like to read some more reassuring pregnancy articles, why not find out more about being scared of giving birth and vaping while pregnant?

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Stomach Bugs During Pregnancy: Should You Worry?

Stomach bugs and diarrhea during pregnancy are unpleasant but not usually a huge cause for concern. Very occasionally a severe stomach bug can cause complications but there are things you can do to try and speed up your recovery.

With a stomach infection, vomiting and diarrhea usually go hand in hand, but if you are only experiencing vomiting this could be morning sickness, something that sadly sometimes lasts longer than just those early pregnancy days.

Stomach viruses are extremely contagious, if someone in your household or that you are in very close contact with is infected, it can be hard to avoid. If you are unlucky and do catch a stomach bug, here are some key things to remember.

Try not to panic, your baby is protected by your womb and your body will be doing everything it can to fight the virus off. You just need to focus on getting better.

Drink plenty of liquids, it is really important that you do not become dehydrated as this is something that can affect the health of your baby too.

If you really don't feel like eating don't fret. As long as you are drinking plenty of fluids, 24 hours or so without food won't do any harm but do eat little amounts if you can.

Diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea are unpleasant but they are a normal reaction from your body to try and rid you of all the bad bacteria.

Wash your hands often, and always after you've been sick, and before and after using the toilet.

Rest! This is extremely important, your body needs to heal and it can't do that if you are rushing about.

You might be wondering when you should contact your doctor or if you even need to at all. If you are experiencing any of the following, it is important that you get in touch with your doctor as soon as possible:

If you are unable to keep any fluids down.

If you have vomited or had diarrhea for over 48 hours.

If your diarrhea is bloody or there is any bleeding from your bottom when you use the bathroom.

If your urine is dark in color (it should be pale usually, or straw-colored).

Symptoms Of The Stomach Flu

If you are experiencing a combination of these symptoms, you most likely have some form of gastroenteritis:

A high temperature/fever.

A feeling of nausea.

Headaches.

Chills.

Pain in your stomach or cramps.

Vomiting.

Diarrhea and/or watery bowel movements.

A general feeling of pain or soreness.

Extreme tiredness/fatigue.

Aching muscles.

Some of these symptoms are coincidentally also signs of going into labor, if you have any concerns at all be sure to contact your doctor. Depending on where you are in your pregnancy will determine how serious certain symptoms are.

One of the most important things to be aware of if you are unwell during pregnancy is to stay hydrated; dehydration can be very bad for your developing baby as it can affect the levels of amniotic fluid surrounding them.

Stomach Flu Vs Food Poisoning

Stomach bug, stomach virus, and stomach flu are all different ways of saying gastroenteritis.

There are two types of gastroenteritis: viral and bacterial. Viral gastroenteritis is caused by rotavirus and is a lot more common in children, luckily there is now a vaccine to protect infants against rotavirus.

Another type of viral gastroenteritis is the 'winter vomiting bug' also known as the norovirus, this is extremely contagious and can affect anyone.

Bacterial gastroenteritis is another name for food poisoning, which while very unfortunate, is not contagious, although it often affects all members of a household who eat together. With all of these types of stomach viruses, the symptoms are very similar.

A very small positive about the stomach flu is that it doesn't usually last very long. The symptoms come on very quickly and then you will usually start to feel better within about 24-48 hours. You will be contagious from the time you start showing symptoms, so it's important to be extra vigilant about not spreading the virus.

If you are unsure whether you have a stomach bug or food poisoning, there are a few ways to tell the difference:

Food poisoning can come on pretty soon after you've consumed the contaminated food or drinks, stomach bugs take a little while to develop.

Food poisoning often lasts longer than a stomach virus.

Food poisoning is often traceable, you may be able to pinpoint exactly what you ate that has caused it, especially if others who were with you are also suffering.

A fever, pain in the stomach, and a headache are more common with stomach viruses than food poisoning.

Stomach Flu Remedies

When it comes to something like a stomach infection, the kind of thing that makes you feel truly lousy, it can be tempting to look for a quick fix to make yourself feel better. However many medicines are not safe to take during pregnancy, including Imodium which is usually a go-to, and certain other anti-nausea remedies.

Before you reach for any medication make sure to consult your doctor or midwife first.

So what can you do to help?

Rest is absolutely key right now, you need to give your body every chance to recover quickly, so if you have other kids this means calling in back up, whether that is other family members or extended time allowed on the iPad, you need to do whatever you can to get some rest!

With vomiting and diarrhea, you will be losing a lot of fluid. Dehydration is bad enough just for you but when you are pregnant, it means your baby could start to get dehydrated too as a result.

If you haven't been peeing much (this will definitely be noticeable as being pregnant usually makes you pee a lot more! ), and if or when you do, you have dark urine rather than pale yellow, then you could be dehydrated.

You should get in touch with your healthcare practitioner who will be able to advise you on what to do next.

Just sipping water regularly will help a lot after you've thrown up. Some drinks that might help aside from plain water are hot water with lemon, diluted fruit juice, and very weak decaf tea.

If you have a fever you should let your doctor know, a temperature of over 100 F (37.78 C) is a fever.

Although a fever is your body's natural way of trying to fight illness when you are sick, it can be more of a concern when you are pregnant and in some cases can affect the health of your developing baby.

Eating may well be the last thing you want to do but a little could help, just keep any foods very plain and simple at first.

Toast on its own, dry cereal without milk, plain biscuits or crackers, anything you think you might be able to keep down. If there are any particular foods that helped you in the early days of being pregnant, give them a try now too!

Making sure you are drinking and getting enough liquids into your body is more important than solids, however, so going a few hours without eating is not the end of the world, as long as you are doing all you can to prevent dehydration.

If you can stomach it, ginger is a great natural digestive aid and it might help you to feel a little better. A few sips of ginger ale or freshly grated ginger in hot water could help to ease nausea.

Hygiene is super important to make sure that a virus can't spread, make sure you are washing your hands regularly, before and after using the toilet, and if you've been sick.

Although housework will be the last thing on your mind, giving the countertops and any other surfaces a wash and disinfect will help to prevent viruses from getting passed further along.

So the key things you need to do are, wash your hands, sip water a little and often, try to get as much rest as possible, and hopefully, this bout of stomach flu will be gone before you know it.

Try not to stress but if there are any signs or symptoms that give you concern, especially dehydration or a fever, get in touch with your health care team as they are the best people to advise you and put your mind at ease.

If you found this article helpful, then why not take a look at how to deal with an ovarian cyst during pregnancy or the worst weeks for morning sickness?

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