Why did I stop getting colds when I was pregnant?

General Questions
#1

Last week I had my first cold in a year. This may not sound amazing, but it is when you are used to getting every darn cold that goes around. This healthy streak started when I got pregnant and lasted through the pregnancy. Before then, I would typically be sick every 1-2 months during the winter and often during the summer, and my colds were often really bad. What happened?

My theories include:

  1. Some cold symptoms are actually due to the immune system over-reacting, so a slightly suppressed immune system helped my body not go nuts fighting little colds.
  2. I have a history of being slightly anemic, and the pre-natal vitamins got my iron levels up and boosted my ability to avoid colds.
  3. My social life shrunk, and I spent a lot less time out and about, exposing me to fewer crowded spaces.
  4. I adopted overall healthier habits, paying better attention to my food and never having alcohol.

Are any of these likely, or is there some other explaination?

#2

I never got sick while pregnant either, and my husband had two or three colds during that time. I vote for isolation plus slightly suppressed immune system, for lack of a better guess. I have continued taking vitamins and eating well since our daughter was born, but I now get every single cold she gets, so that wasn’t it.

#3

Number 3 is probably the biggest impact. But I suspect the others may have had some influence as well.

Also, please wash your hands like crazy, and consider wearing a mask as much as you can stand it. This seems to be a very big year for RSV, and you don’t want to give that to the baby. In adults, RSV is most often a mild cold. In babies, it can be much worse. Three of my friends (not local, so not one sick-pool) have had their babies admitted to the hospital just this week with RSV. :frowning:

#4

From the FAQ’s on that site - most babies will get it anyway, by the time they are two. If the baby is normally healthy and not prone to respiratory symptoms, it really isn’t a problem.

I would vote for (3) as well, but there is all kinds of stuff going on within a pregnant woman (besides growing a baby). Healthy pregnant women always seem to glow with health.

#5

The following is my personal belief as to the cause of common colds. As such, most people will likely disagree with me - or at the worst, consider this theory to be that of a lunatic. I’m sorry if it offends people. But it’s based on my own personal experiences.

When I was about 25, I became a vegetarian. I lived that way for about 5 years and have eaten some meat and fish after that, but very little. To this day, my diet is mostly vegetarian although there are a few kinds of fish that I still do eat.

When I became a vegetarian, I stopped getting colds. In fact, I stopped getting most all kinds of illnesses. Believe that or not, I won’t dispute your right to disbelieve that.

My conclusion was that the hormones and antibiotics and other chemicals they put into meat may have been linked to common colds. How?

Possibly, a common cold is the body’s attempt to rid itself of certain impurities and chemicals through a runny nose and sneezing and mucus which flushes them out of the body. OK. Like I said, this is my personal theory and you may well consider it to be flaky.

So, when you became pregnant, did you adjust your diet in any way? Specifically, did you try to eat more natural foods and avoid highly processed foods (especially meat and fish and white flour and white sugar)?

If so, that may be the reason why you stopped catching colds.

Believe this if you like. Disbelieve it if you like. Either way, I won’t hold i against you. If you are interested, I have many other theories involving the human body. One of my favorites is an explanation of what causes people to become left handed. But I don’t want to hijack this thread. So maybe some other place and time for that.

Best wishes to you with your pregnancy.

#6

In my case, definitely not meat related. I was vegetarian for years, and if anything I got more colds then.

#7

OK then. I guess the lesson for me is … “You can’t win 'em all!”

But thanks for listening.

#8

I’ve found that my susceptibility to illness is entirely due to my nutrition. I work with the public (in restaurants, handling money and touching people’s used glasses, flatware etc constantly) and take public transit, so I always have a high level of germ exposure.

I tried going ovo-vegetarian once and I was never more unhealthy in my life. A diet that keeps me in top condition is one with lots of meat and vegetables and very little low nutrient filler foods. And regular vitamin supplements just in case.

#9

If by “glow with health” you mean “oh, are you okay? Are you going to throw up? You’re glowing with about-to-throw-up”, then sure. :slight_smile:

Oddly, I was expecting more contagious illness already (I’m just about out of the first trimester) and I’ve somehow avoided getting more than one nasty bug that’s gone around work or, in one case, hit my husband hard. I’ve been surprised too.