Immune Support in Pregnancy
It's winter and an epic flu season, and everyone is either sick or desperately trying not to get sick while parenting sick kiddos. Here are my favorite pregnancy-safe remedies to recover quickly, to reduce chances of infection if your water breaks but you don't go into labor right away, or if you feel mastitis coming on. Some of these can also be incorporated into a daily routine to prevent sickness.
Garlic
Crush 1-2 cloves of garlic, leave them alone for 15 minutes, then mince, mix with honey, swallow and chase with water, tea, or juice. This is easier when you have something in your stomach.
Another option (and one great for kids) is garlic lemonade. 3 cloves garlic minced, put in a quart size jar, pour boiling water over them and allow them to steep for 15 minutes. Strain out the garlic, add lemon juice and honey to taste. This is actually quite delicious.
And incorporate garlic, especially raw garlic, into your diet--not only is it great for your immune system, but it also reduces blood pressure for those with hypertension.
Echinacea Tincture
1 dropperful (about 5 ml, or 1 tsp) every 3 hours.
Elderberry Syrup
1 Tbsp every 3 hours when you're feeling sick, or 1 Tbsp once daily as a preventative remedy. It tastes great mixed into tea, garlic lemonade, or on oatmeal.
Foods and Fluids
- Emphasize soups, and see if you can add grated ginger and garlic to your soup
- Lots of fluids, but avoid sugary drinks
- Avoid processed sugars--these deplete and suppress your immune system
- Bone broth
Sleep
This is a tough one for those with little kids, but getting good quality sleep is a must.
Supplements
- Up to 5,000 IUs Vitamin D daily in pregnancy - have your provider check your Vitamin D levels (most people are low), normal range is between 30 - 100, and an ideal would be about 50.
- Cod Liver Oil - 1 Tbsp daily.
- Probiotics - I recommend Fem-dophilus for anyone who has a vagina.
Acupuncture
- Acupuncture is really helpful for your immunity! I've seen gnarly lingering infections cleared with 1-2 acupuncture treatments, and I credit my acupuncturist for assisting me out of my last cold.
