9 Ways To Prevent Prenatal Infection

Is your unborn baby safe from Prenatal Infections? We strive, we suffer, we struggle and put in every effort to keep our babies safe but many women don’t know that they can pass infections to their baby when they are pregnant.

Prenatal Infection Prevention is an essential topic you must discuss with your Obstetrician when pregnant.  There are many possible infections mother and child can be exposed to during pregnancy and child birth. At times, these infections can cause serious illnesses, birth defects, and lifelong disabilities, such as hearing loss or learning problems so it’s definitely something you should be concerned about. Anyway, enough with the bad news now.

Here is the good news!

There is no need to fret! Femcity has compiled this easy to read guide that explains the extra precautions and steps you can take to improve the chances that your baby will be born healthy. Some of the steps are excessively easy and can just be followed without any extra effort.

Below are 9 ways you can protect yourself and your unborn baby.

1. Washing hands with soap and water. Yes, Washing hands with just soap and water really well, can remove the harmful germs and give you protection. It is more important thatyou must wash your hands before and after certain activities.

• Using the bathroom
• Preparing and Eating food
• Touching soil, dirt during gardening or otherwise
• Changing diapers
• Caring for babies and pets

2. Avoid unpasteurized (raw) milk and foods made from it.
   Raw and unpasteurized milk, foods such as deli cheeses and hot dogs should be avoided. Unpasteurized products can contain harmful bacteria such as listeria. Sorry, I know they are yummy, but this could be a positive way of protection for you and your unborn child.
3. While we’re on the topic of eating, here is another tip. Cook your meat until it is absolutely well done.
4.  A virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV) can cause problems for some babies, including microcephaly (a smaller baby head) or hearing loss. A woman who is infected with CMV can pass the infection to her developing fetus during pregnancy. Avoid contact with saliva and urine from babies and young children. If you have older children, this may not be possible but being aware can reduce your chances. Try not to share food with babies and wash hands often especially after changing diapers.
5.  Stay away from people who could be carrying an infection such as chicken pox or rubella especially if you have not been vaccinated.
6.  Consider being vaccinated before pregnancy. Some vaccinations are even recommended during or right after pregnancy. Talk to your obstetrician about this.
7.  Protect yourself from mosquito bites. A safe repellent or just using daily area-wise mosquito repellants could keep you safe from those nasty bites.
8.  Stay away from handling animals and pets if possible or maintain excellent hygiene when you do so.
9.  Be COVID-19 safe.

Of course the infection today that wins the “fear factor” is Coronavirus or COVID-19. We thought it deserved a special devoted section of its own.

It is especially important for pregnant people, and those who live with them, to protect themselves from getting COVID-19. There is a possibility that women who are pregnant are more susceptible to severe illness if infected with COVID-19. It is also possible to infect the baby right after birth.  Remember following the basic hygiene and social distancing rule can really, almost completely, solve your problem and your worry.

• Maintain good hygiene and wash your hands often. Regular hand washing, is one of the best ways to remove germs, including the novel coronavirus, avoid getting sick, and prevent infections. If soap and running water are not available, you can use alcohol-based hand gel.
• Wear a good mask
• Stay at least 6 feet away from people.
• Where possible, limit your interactions and closeness with people whom you do not live with, altogether.
• Breastfeed safely, only with good respiratory hygiene. While breastfeeding, a mother should still implement appropriate hygiene measures, including wearing a medical mask if available, to reduce the possibility of droplets with COVID-19 being spread to her infant.
• Most importantly, visit a hospital and health care provider that is completely Covid-19 safe. Avoid hospitals that are treating Covid-19 patients and also provide doctors and nurses that could be visiting such hospitals.

Watch Femcity’s tireless efforts to sanitize, disinfect and protect the hospital and its patients from any infections including the novel coronavirus.

That’s it! An easy guide to follow, as promised. We wish you and your child are absolutely safe and relish a marvelous pregnancy that you will cherish forever. Remember, taking precautions and making your efforts is essential but having a positive and worry-free mind will give you and your child the real pleasure of this safe and amazing maternity journey.