Is It Normal To Feel Cold During Pregnancy?

Among various pregnancy symptoms, such as vaginal discharge changes, high BBT for over 2 weeks or implantation bleeding, one other pregnancy signs may involve feeling cold.

You may also experience feeling lethargic, back pain and some other signs which are normally experienced before flu starts. You may still not be sure – is feeling cold a symptom of pregnancy?

Why Am I Feeling Cold during Pregnancy?

Most expecting mothers start feeling warmer than usual while pregnant, and this is mostly because pregnancy brings lots of changes that involve their metabolism, therefore producing heat. The body may attempt to cool off by sweating, trying to speed up the breathing rate and producing greater flow of blood to the legs and arms.

In certain women, the cooling efforts might go into overdrive, which may give an explanation why feeling chilly.

If you are cold in a constant manner, it may be a good move to get in touch with your obstetrician. Feeling cold at all times is a sign of hypothyroidism, a medical condition that is the result of an underactive thyroid.

This isn`t a serious illness; however, if you have it, it is essential to follow treatment. A quick blood test can confirm it immediately.

Nutritional Problems

Certain women out there will just refuse to eat, not to mention if they experience morning sickness or feeling nauseous. This might lead to a deficiency of energy and, therefore, their body can`t get sufficiently warm.

Also read: Can You Get Pregnant Without Penetration?

Another reason for having sensations of cold might be that they don`t follow a healthy diet. As you might already know, the diet of a future mother has to include lots of carbs, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

However, you should beware that there`re some energizing types of foods you need to stay away from, as they contain toxic substances or bacteria, which can definitely be dangerous for both you and your baby. Among them are raw eggs, uncooked fish or unpasteurized milk.

Thyroid Disease

The thyroid represents a tiny gland located in the front of your neck. It produces and maintains the levels of hormones in the body. However, if it malfunctions, the hormonal levels may get screwed up and affect the temperature of the body. With a hormonal imbalance, women may start feeling cold while pregnant.

Weight Loss

Weight loss may occur especially during the 1^st trimester of pregnancy when women experience morning sickness and nausea due to fat storage being reduced and the energy source diminished. At this time, it`s perfectly normal for the woman to experience sensations of cold.

There`s a certain weight amount that a pregnancy woman needs to maintain so that both her and her future baby stay healthy. A future mother typically adds 1 kg of weight during the 1^st trimester of pregnancy and up to 5 kg during the 2^nd and 3^rd trimesters.

Following this general rule will ensure a normal body temperature regulation. If a pregnant woman may notice that she`s losing or not adding weight, she should talk to her OB. He`ll be able to direct her to a nutritionist.

Infections

Another cause may be related to an infection. Specific infections, like kidney or chest infections, are quite frequent while pregnant. UTI is also another common infection during pregnancy.

This type of infections generally occurs with signs such as shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting. Certain women feel chilly or feverish at this time as well.

Anemia

On occasion, there may be a deficiency of iron in the body of a pregnant woman. Iron deficiency usually means there isn`t enough red blood cells being produced that could carry oxygen throughout the entire body.

Oxygen is essential for the baby`s healthy development, so it`s vital that it`s maintained within normal limits. Also, low oxygen levels may lead to a slow rate of metabolism, which may also result in feeling cold.

Symptoms of Feeling Cold during Pregnancy

If high BBT or morning sickness represents a cause of feeling cold, you may be experiencing chills up and down the back, just as if you have caught a cold. Other symptoms of a flu bug may exist, such as drowsiness or fatigue, but if you have a cough, your throat hurts and experience a temperature of 37.5 ℃, you should talk to a doctor right away.

Also read: What Is A Viable Pregnancy?

You may feel like you are chilled to your bones and the feet or hands are freezing if your circulation is weak. The lower body half is not warm and you also might experience diarrhea. You should attempt to warm the body as much as you can.

You may notice the feeling of lying down more frequently than usually, or for longer time frames throughout pregnancy. The issue will lie with needing to stand up after a long rest period. If you get up and stay in a standing position or stand up all of the sudden after lying down for a longer period of time, you may feel dizziness and even experience the chills.

Is It Normal to Experience Chills during Pregnancy?

When you are expecting, hormones are on a roller coaster. For many women, the progesterone and estrogen surges lead to feeling hot and sweating. However, every now and then women respond with opposite signs – feeling chilly.

Although perhaps this is rather normal, there`re a couple of things to take into account. On occasion, a thyroid issue is detected during pregnancy for the first time, so this will be something that can be found with a quick blood test.

Also, chills may be associated with various infections which occur quite frequently while pregnant, like kidney infection. However, normally with infection there`re other existing signs, like vomiting, fever or nausea.

Feeling Cold vs. Catching a Cold during Pregnancy

Feeling cold isn`t a severe health condition. Still, if a future mother catches a cold, then things are different.

While feeling cold while pregnant could only mean the inability of the body to maintain the internal temperature at normal levels, catching a cold is a whole different issue. When an expectant mother catches a cold, her immunity is put at risk making her vulnerable to getting sick.

Expecting mothers face a greater responsibility when it comes to their health. If they catch a cold, women may have runny nose and sneeze a lot. They may also experience mild sensations of fatigue, dry cough and scratchy throat.

This infection generally spreads to the sinuses, nasal cavity and throat leading to discomfort.

Women aren`t able to protect themselves all the time against cold viruses, but they could try and boost their immunity. They are able to do this by adding foods that include vitamin C to their diet. Taking prenatal supplements and vitamins can boost the immune system as well.

How to Handle Cold Feeling while Pregnant?

It`s completely normal to feel irritated or concerned when experiencing a feeling of cold during pregnancy, but most of the time is nothing really serious. However, it`s best to talk to your health care provider about what you feel so you can both find the medical cause.

Here`re a couple of other tips which should help you manage your condition:

• Make certain you follow a well balanced diet that involves meals which contain proteins, carbs, vitamins and minerals. This type of nutrients will offer plenty of energy to maintain your body temperature at a normal level. Discuss with a doctor if your signs of nausea make things difficult for you to eat.
• A great method to fight cold is to consume lots of fluids. Studies suggest that drinking beverages aids replace any fluids you may have lost during fever.
• Feeling cold while pregnant isn`t most of the time something very serious. Use some warm clothing items or cover yourself with a blanket to feel warm again.
• Stuffiness is often associated with cold and it can be combated with saline nasal sprays or drops. The saline mist from this type of products breaks up mucus from the nose and prevent it from clogging, It also ease sinus swelling.
• Steam could alleviate congestion temporarily and calm down the distressing signs of a cold while pregnant. Moisten a washcloth with hot water or take a warm (not hot) shower to look for relief. The washcloth can be placed on your face while breathing in.
• Garlic is a natural remedy when it comes to fighting cold, as it has expectorant and decongestant properties. You can either use it war or cook it in order for it to have antiviral effects against your condition.

Note: If you still continue feeling cold after taking a few measures of precaution, you should have a discussion with a doctor about your medical condition. He`ll ask about your medical history and perform you a medical examination to look for other signs that may show him what is the cause.