How to Boost Your Immune System Naturally During Pregnancy

The altered state of your immune system during pregnancy increases your risk of getting sick, so it’s important to find natural, simple, and effective ways to support it for a healthy pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. 

Your immune function during pregnancy is vital in keeping you and your baby healthy. It is super important to support your health during pregnancy.

Maintaining good overall health by supporting your immune system will help grow and support your pregnancy and decrease the risk of certain complications.

Here are eight simple ways to boost your immune system during pregnancy!

1. Don’t neglect your vitamins and minerals

Prenatal Vitamins

Taking a high-quality prenatal vitamin is a great way to ensure that you are getting all of the essential vitamins and minerals needed to support your immune system and to help maintain a healthy pregnancy. 

Studies have shown that vitamin deficiencies lower your overall body health and can lead to complications with you and baby during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

Prenatal vitamins help fill in any nutritional gaps and support your overall health, which in turn helps to support your immune system as well as your growing body and baby.

Vitamin D3

Although the sun is wonderful for you, it will rarely provide you with adequate vitamin D. Also, few foods have enough of it to help you reach your recommended daily intake so during pregnancy, you’ll also want to look into taking a vitamin D3 supplement.

Not only does Vitamin D support bone health during pregnancy, it also helps boost your immune system and has been found to aid in decreasing the risk of preterm labor.  

Studies have shown that taking a 4000 IU vitamin D3 dose during pregnancy is ideal for both you and baby.

*The recommended daily amount of vitamin D during pregnancy is 4000 IU per day. Cross-check the amount of vitamin D you’re getting from your prenatal vitamins and any additional D3 supplements you’re taking. 

Vitamin C

Vitamin C may sound basic, but it is a powerhouse immune system booster and is actually needed for the development of a healthy pregnancy!

It also helps improve your body’s with iron absorption and is also needed in the production of collagen. It’s super easy to get the recommended daily amount through food if you have a diet that is very rich in colorful fruits and veggies. However it’s also easy to supplement to meet your needs.

*The recommended daily dose of vitamin C during pregnancy is 85mg per day (for women age 19+). During pregnancy, the recommended daily dose is 120mg per day.

Foods rich in Vitamin C that you can add to your pregnancy diet:

• Guava
• Kiwi
• Oranges
• Strawberries
• Chili Pepper
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Bell Peppers
• Kale
• Cauliflower
• Brussel Sprouts
• Mango

Iron

Iron deficiency during pregnancy is very common. Being consistently iron deficient throughout pregnancy can cause many issues ranging from lowered immune function to increasing the risk of a baby having a lower birth weight.

If you are iron deficient, check out Floradix.  Many mamas I know swear by this natural, liquid, plant-based iron supplement. Unlike those nasty red iron pills, it’s actually effective, super gentle on your gut (no constipation!), and it’s quite tasty. 

*The recommended dosage for adults is just 10 mL twice daily between meals. This dose satisfies the recommended daily amount for women of childbearing age.

Foods rich in Iron that you can add to your diet:

• Liver
• Tofu
• Beef
• Chickpeas and kidney beans 
• Lamb
• Spinach
• Kale
• Spinach
• Salmon
• Iron-fortified foods such as breakfast cereals
• Cooked beans and lentils
• Pumpkins and squash 
• Dried apricots
• Baked potatoes
• Nuts

*To help extract the most amount of iron out of any of these foods, it’s advisable to eat it them along with a vitamin-C-rich food.

2. Take a good probiotic

Studies have found a clear link between your gut and your immune system. Having good gut health contributes to good general health and a strong immune system. 

A high-quality prenatal probiotic will help support your digestive system which is more sluggish during pregnancy due to hormonal changes, balance your gut bacteria and boost your immune system.

3. Get a chiropractic adjustment

Getting chiropractic adjustments during pregnancy is a must! A chiropractic adjustment is a safe and non-invasive holistic treatment that studies have shown to be effective and beneficial.

Not only is it one of the best things you can do to prepare your body for labor, and have a faster labor, it’s a fantastic way to boost your immune system during pregnancy when you may be more prone to illness. 

A 3-year study revealed that chiropractic patients were found to have a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care!

4. Get some sleep

Most healthy adults, especially pregnant mamas such as yourself need 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night.

I know this may be hard to achieve, especially in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy when you may be dealing with pregnancy insomnia and the many discomforts that come along with being very…pregnant.

Getting some good sleep will help maintain good overall health and also strengthen and sharpen your body’s immune response.

Having a hard time sleeping?

• Take a warm Epsom salt bath (more on this below)
• Add prenatal collagen to your diet, which is a rich source of glycine
• Get a pregnancy pillow (if you don’t have one of these, you are missing out!)
• Drink some of this delicious hot pregnancy tea — I swear this helped control and decrease my postpartum bleeding.
• Turn off that phone and dim the lights to encourage your body to release more melatonin which will help you fall asleep in no time.

5. Take an Epsom salt bath

Epsom salt is another great (and super cheap!) way to not only help boost your immune system during pregnancy, but also to help soothe pesky headaches and relax an achy body.

An Epsom salt bath helps detox the body. Also, it has an alkalizing effect which reduces the acidity in the body and makes it a less favorable environment for disease to thrive.

Once you get into your super relaxing Epsom salt bath, you may not want to get out again but keep in mind that bathing in it for long periods of time may cause dehydration (I usually feel very thirsty after mine). Don’t forget to drink your water!

6. Stay active

Studies show that exercising during pregnancy is another great way to boost your immune system. Not only does regular exercise help boost your immune system response, it’s a great way to maintain a healthy weight.

It also helps prepare your body for an easier natural birth and it’s a fantastic way to relieve stress which decreases your chance of getting sick.

7. Keep up with your hygiene

This pretty much goes without saying. Wash your hands (don\t forget your nails!) often, and stay away from those who are sick!

8. Eat a wholesome (spicy) diet

Eating healthy and wholesome foods is necessary for maintaining a healthy body and supporting your immune system. Through this post I’ve shared a variety of immune-boosting foods you can add to your pregnancy diet.

But did you know that many spices have immune-boosting properties?

Here are some spices you’ll want to add to your pantry!

• Ginger
• Garlic
• Cinnamon
• Turmeric (always pair with black pepper for maximum absorbency)
• Cayenne Pepper

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