When a pregnant woman has a fever, the mother is very worried that the fever will have an adverse effect on the baby. Some foreign scholars have confirmed that "high fever" is one of the important influencing factors of fetal teratogenicity. Heat stroke, high temperature work, and hot baths can harm the fetus. Therefore, Mommy becomes helpless when she finds herself having a fever.

What should I do if a pregnant woman has a fever?

After all, the physiological characteristics of pregnant women and fetuses are different from ordinary people. Therefore, when pregnant women have a fever, they should also be treated differently. How should pregnant women take care of them when they have a fever, so as to ensure the health of the mother and the fetus?

Method 1: Physical cooling. In addition to identifying the cause of the fever, pregnant women also need to moderate the fever. Fever often increases the mother's metabolic rate, and it is accompanied by many uncomfortable symptoms, such as headache, loss of appetite, general malaise, palpitations, and even dehydration, which increases the burden on pregnant women's cardiopulmonary function. Therefore, it is necessary to choose moderate fever reduction. Generally speaking, if the body temperature of pregnant women is not higher than 38.5 degrees Celsius and there is no obvious discomfort, physical methods can be considered to help reduce fever, such as ice pillows, cooling stickers, and warm water wiping. Wipe your body repeatedly with a warm towel, and place ice packs on your armpits, forehead, and groin.

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

Method 3: Identify the cause of fever. It must be reiterated that the pathogen causing the fever in pregnant women is more important to the mother and fetus than the fever. 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. What comes is more important.

Does maternal fever affect the fetus?

If it is only a transient mild fever, it will generally not cause harm to the mother or the fetus. However, some studies have found that during the 5-6 weeks of pregnancy (3-4 weeks of gestation), that is, the neural tube development period, if the maternal body temperature is higher than 38.9 degrees Celsius for more than 24 hours, it will increase the incidence of fetal neural tube defects (such as Anencephaly), but it must be emphasized that very few pregnant women let their body temperature rise so high for such a long time without treatment.

Therefore, the harm of fever to the fetus or mother is not greater than the harm caused by the cause itself. If the fever is caused by a German measles infection, the virus will do far more harm to the fetus (such as deformities) than the fever itself.

After the first trimester, the fever caused by the flu won't directly harm the baby, but pregnant women can get very sick from the flu, so pregnant women should get the flu shot to prevent it. However, if the pregnant woman is healthy, a cold and fever during pregnancy will not have much impact on the mother or the fetus.

How can pregnant women reduce fever?

If the pregnant woman's body temperature is not higher than 38.5 degrees Celsius, and there is no obvious discomfort, you can consider using physical methods to help reduce the fever, such as ice pillows, cooling stickers, warm water wiping, etc. Place an ice pack, etc. in the groin.

Pregnant women should try not to use medicines for fever. As for when to consider taking medicines, it varies from person to person. If a pregnant woman has a fever, the temperature exceeds 38.5 degrees Celsius, and is accompanied by uncomfortable symptoms, she should go to a regular hospital for examination and treatment as soon as possible, otherwise the pregnant woman's fever will cause serious harm to the fetus.

What medicine should pregnant women take for fever?

Pregnant women must take medicine under the guidance of a doctor, and are not allowed to take medicine without authorization. Because it is not only related to the drug itself, but also to the pregnancy process.

In general, pregnant women with fever can be treated with acetaminophen, a dose of acetaminophen that lasts 6 hours at a time, that is, can be taken 4 times in 24 hours. Ibuprofen, Bupleurum injection, etc. are available.

Indomethacin is an antipyretic drug that is contraindicated in pregnant women, and aspirin should not be used after 32 weeks of pregnancy. Indomethacin has been reported to cause premature closure of the ductus arteriosus in the fetal heart.

In addition, pregnant women should not use antibiotics when they have a cold without clear evidence of bacterial infection. Because antibiotics can act on the fetus through the placenta, there is a 20%-40% chance of causing harm to the fetus, so they should be taken under the guidance of a doctor.

The pathogen that causes fever itself is more harmful to mother and fetus than fever. Therefore, when pregnant women have a fever, it is more important to find out the cause of the fever and prescribe the right medicine, which is more important than simple fever reduction.