Whether you are pregnant, trying to be pregnant, or underwent a childbirth recently, the risk of getting infected remains high as the body goes through so many changes. The infection causing agents can come in contact from anywhere, and can affect you as well as the newborn baby. It is important to take some extra precautions to ward off these infections and to stop them from affecting your baby’s health.
Taking utmost is not so easy as it seems. By following these simple steps, you can protect yourself and your unborn or newborn baby from infections during or after pregnancy..
Important Tips To Avoid Infections
Here we’ve listed 10 safety tips that you must follow today. Have a look.
Wash Your Hands Regularly
This simple habit can ward off many viruses and bacteria. Wash your hands several times with soap and water after using the washroom, before cooking or having food, touching unwashed vegetables, meat, eggs, etc., touching pets, working in the garden with soil, touching unwell people, touching kids, changing their diapers, etc. Regular hand washing and proper hand sanitizing will help a lot in preventing the infection from spreading.
Avoid Contact With Children Saliva, Diapers, And Urine
Cytomegalovirus is a common virus that infects many people. In the US, every one of three children gets it. This virus is common in adults too. It does not show any sign of sickness, but it can be reactive. If you come in contact with a kid or adult who is infected with CMV, it can be dangerous for your baby. You can avoid the infection by taking precautions such as wearing gloves and washing hands as you change the diapers of your kids or clean the urine or saliva.
Cook Your Food Properly
Eating meat is prohibited during pregnancy, but it is healthy. If you are eating it, make sure that it is cooked properly. At high temperatures, all the impurities of the meat, if any, goes away. Also, cook your eggs well. Do not eat raw meat and deli meat which cannot be trusted for hygiene.
Keep Distance from Wild Rodent Pets
While keeping pets is good, they are animals at the end that may carry virus-like lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). If you have pet rodents in your home like mice, wild or pet guinea pigs, or hamsters, keep your distance from them. You can hire someone to take care of them or give their responsibility to another member of the house.
Avoid Using Raw Milk and Its Products
It is recommended to use only pasteurized milk. The process of pasteurization kills the bacteria present in raw milk or bacteria that contaminated it during the process of milking. Also, avoid having any products made from unpasteurized milk like brie, queso fresco, feta cheese, etc. Check the labels of the food products to know if they are pasteurized or not.
Take Your Shots
You must start taking care of yourself even when you are trying to get pregnant. You need to get certain vaccines before pregnancy. Both during and after the pregnancy, you must be in regular touch with your doctors to learn about your vaccination. When you are healthy, the baby will be healthy. A slight infection can be fatal, and proper vaccination is essential to avoid it.
Learn About GBS From Your Doctor
Group B streptococcus (GBS) bacteria affects newborn babies and causes serious problems like pneumonia, blood infections, inflammation in membranes around the spinal cord, etc. It is detected in the first week of birth. The infection comes to the babies from their mothers. A tip to avoid the spread of this infection to your baby is to get tested during the last stages of pregnancy and consult your doctor to protect the baby during the birth.
Avoid Touching The Cat Litter
If you have a cat at home, this is the time when someone else should take responsibility, including cleaning after it. You must avoid touching or changing the cat litter. If you are doing so, wear gloves, use antiseptic liquid to wash your hands afterward. Also, do not touch the garden soil. It may contain several bacteria which can cause infection.
Stay Away From Infected People
Infected people can be at your home or outside the home; it is important to keep a safe distance from people who have infections like chicken pox or rubella. When you are pregnant, you need to take extra precautions as chickenpox can cause birth defects. Rubella is even more dangerous and can even cause a miscarriage.
Make Your Home Insect Free
Flies can cause diseases. Mosquitoes carry dangerous infections like Malaria and the Zika virus; ticks can cause Lyme disease. All these insects can be dangerous to the health of your unborn baby. You must protect yourself from insect bites, especially mosquitoes. Avoid traveling to areas where you can contact any of these viruses. During the Covid-19 pandemic, you must take extra precautions and avoid meeting people at all because you don’t know who can be infected.
Get Tested for Hepatitis B, STD, and HIV
Not taking protection during intercourse can spread STDs. You don’t see any symptoms if you are infected with HIV, Hepatitis B, or any other STD. It can be ascertained with the help of tests. You must get yourself tested for any of these infections and if you are positive, consult your doctor about your baby’s protection.
Conclusion
These tips may sound a bit extreme, but the health of a pregnant woman is very vulnerable during pregnancy. Some infections are fatal, while some of them can be treated if, and only if you visit your doctor from time to time and get yourself checked up regularly. Also, look out for vaginal infections, Listeriosis, Parvovirus, Toxoplasmosis, and other infections.
These are simple tips that will help you from getting infected during or after pregnancy. If you are suffering from any infection, these tips will help you to stop it from getting severe. Sometimes there won’t be any signs of an infection and thus, and educating yourself becomes very important.
