I had the misfortune of coming down with a terrible stomach bug yesterday. Being 5 months pregnant, I was worried sick about my baby. My symptoms were diarrhea and vomiting every 45-90 minutes for 14 hrs. While I had heard the bug itself shouldn’t pose any risks to the baby, I knew dehydration could be very dangerous. After reading on the internet, it made me more nervous since I certainly wasn’t able to keep down a sip of water, let alone the copious amounts recommended. Here is my advice:
1. Call your doctor or midwife just to keep them in the loop.
2. Get some help from your baby-making partner, family member or a friend, or at least let them know you’re ill and check-in with them frequently.
3. Get a large cup of ice chips to suck on. If you’re like me, I couldn’t keep anything down and this was all I could do to keep some hydration.
4. Get a glass of anything you can tolerate sips of: diluted white grape juice, water, even soda if that’s what helps. This is not the time to be concerned about high-fructose corn syrup — you just need to get hydrated.
5. Get some plain brown rice cakes or saltine crackers to nibble on.
6. Once you’re able, try some broth or dry toast and continue with bland foods like bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.
7. If you’re very ill for over 24 hours, call your doctor again. You may be advised to go to the ER for some IV fluids.
If you develop additional symptoms like headache, fever or stiff neck, call your doctor right away as you may need to go to the hospital.
I hope this helps! And try not to worry. The body does all it can to protect that little bun in your oven.