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Is food poisoning dangerous during pregnancy?
Food poisoning is dangerous to anyone. You could die of dehydration if it were severe,
or the toxins building up in some cases.
But we live in a much more advanced society than we did in the 1800s when cholera could
kill someone in 24 hours.
Diarrhea still kills millions of children under the age of 5 worldwide. And if you are
pregnant, you are almost as vulnerable to dehydration as they are.
I could drink electrolytes and get plenty of rest.
If you have morning sickness while you have Delhi Belly or the runs, you’re losing liquid
from both ends. That could kill you in 24 hours without an IV or drugs to stop it.
Wouldn’t some indigestion medicine be enough?
If you have a minor case, maybe. If you are pooping or puking every hour or two and can’t
keep anything down, it could kill you even if you weren’t pregnant.
And pregnant women need more liquids because they are pregnant.
About 3,000 die every year from food poisoning while another 100K land in the hospital.
Can food poisoning hurt the baby?
In severe cases, the severe dehydration can trigger early labor. Then you’re weak from
dehydration as your body tries to lessen the load.
Great, then I could be pooping due to labor and the listeria.
Most cases of food poisoning are mild, because about one in six people get it every year.
Unfortunately, pregnant women are more susceptible to getting it and suffer more when they do.
At least it won’t hurt the baby much.
As long as you don’t get too dehydrated or remain sick so long that the baby doesn’t
get the necessary nutrients. Though if you get listeria, it is serious.
How serious?
Listeria, which you can get from raw sprouts, produce and dairy, can actually cause brain
damage to the baby or kill it.
That kills hubby’s raw diet plans.
And stay away from raw milk, too, because of the disease risk.
The only raw milk in our family will be the baby’s breast milk.