Causes of fever during pregnancy | Fever during pregnancy

Causes of fever during pregnancy

The most common reason for fever during pregnancy is a slight viral infection, which is also more frequent outside pregnancy, especially in the winter months. Mostly it concerns light respiratory tract infections, which cause the temperature increase. Of course, fever can also occur in the context of a gastrointestinal infection.

This is not dangerous for the child. However, the pregnant woman should of course take sufficient physical rest and cure herself. In rare cases, however, fever is an expression of a serious illness, such as toxoplasmosis, rubella or syphilis. The fever is accompanied by other symptoms that are characteristic of the disease, so that the suspicion in the examination is directed to a possible differential diagnosis.

Duration of fever in pregnancy

The duration of the fever cannot be predicted across the board. In the case of mild infections, fever usually lasts no longer than a few days. Drug therapy to lower the fever – for example with paracetamol – often shortens the duration of the fever to less than 4 days.

However, some diseases are accompanied by a longer fever duration or several fever episodes with interruptions. Examples are syphilis or amniotic infection syndrome. However, these diseases are relatively rare.