Pregnancy and the Flu...

Dangerdoll

Dangerdoll

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Aug 27, 2002
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Roselle Park, NJ
aquariacentral.com
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Cori
No..... the Doll is not Pregnant, LMAO!

ok, so here's the deal. My sister is pregnant, about 4 months or so at this point and has come down with the Flu..... or a great imposter of it. She has a doctor appointment for this afternoon for some prenatal stuff but she also wants to talk to the doc about this nasty cold and if there's anything she could safely take. This concerns me, I guess is a trust issue because I know of someone who took pills at the doctors advice during pregnancy and it had ill effects on the newborn. The doctor denies it but this was 30-40 years ago so medicine was a lot different back then. I'm nervous about her taking the advice of a doc without getting some outside opinions/experience. So..... am I just being paranoid? Can anyone say if they've taken anything that's been good enough for the flu and safe enough for the baby?
 
When I was 9+ months pregnant with my son I came down with a severe cause of the flu that led to pneumonia. I was coughing so bad I had to sleep sitting up and I ended pulling a muscle in my back from coughing. My doctor prescribed a codine based cough syrup for me. I was so desperate I took it and my son was a very healthy newborn just a few weeks later.

With my daughter I caught it again early in my pregnancy and I was told by my doctor to take sudafed, which I did for about a week. My daughter was not a healthy newborn and spent the first days of her life in ICU...but I don't believe it had anything to do with the sudafed. I was way over term with her and suffering from pre-eclampsia.

I think they have made so many strides with pregnancy and medication that if she trust her doctor, she should take the advice given.

I do have a horror story about baby formula though...it happened 30+ years ago. It was the primary reason I nursed both my kids. I won't go into that now though.
 
She will still have the option of researching whatever medication she's given before taking it--and should do so. Medications are typically labelled as safe/unsafe for pregnant women; the tricky part is figuring out WHY it's considered unsafe (ie, take only if instructed by your doctor). Often, it's because the medication may increase the risk of, say, pregnancy related diabetes--maybe not even a risk factor for your sister.

Is this an OB, or a family practice doctor?
 
That's good--OB's tend to deal with this situation more often than family practitioners, so are more familiar with the options that are safe. My cousin recently delivered a very healthy baby girl (10 pounds!). She was healthy for the pregnancy, but I was sick during her shower and didn't go because I was afraid of exposing her to my germs!
 
I know what ya mean, OG.... how thoughtful of you. I never woulda known the sensitivity of the babies while the moms were pregnant if I didn't see it for myself. One lady here was pregnant years ago, someone came in to work with the chicken pox and she was exposed.... and well..... it's just a sad, sad story.....
 
I'm with OG, just do some research on what is prescribed. I was told early in my pregnancy that the asthma meds. I had been taking were safe. Turns out there was another that is much safer and the doctor never bothered to mention that. Luckily, I switched doctors shortly after receiving the bad advice.

If I ever take the time to figure out how to post pics. I'll have to show off my son!! He was born Dec. 3rd, so its nice to finally have a few spare minutes to stop back in the forums!! Well wishes to your sister :clap:
 
Holly9937 said:
I'm with OG, just do some research on what is prescribed. I was told early in my pregnancy that the asthma meds. I had been taking were safe. Turns out there was another that is much safer and the doctor never bothered to mention that. Luckily, I switched doctors shortly after receiving the bad advice.

If I ever take the time to figure out how to post pics. I'll have to show off my son!! He was born Dec. 3rd, so its nice to finally have a few spare minutes to stop back in the forums!! Well wishes to your sister :clap:
Click to expand...

Congratulations Holly! :)
 
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