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Fever in the first trimester
In my first trimester, I had a temperature ranging from 99 to 103 degrees for nearly four days, thanks to a nasty bout of the flu. I have read that a fever in the early weeks could harm the foetus. However, it didn't state what the chances were or the type of harm. Can you tell me?
A second reason is that it is difficult (impossible) to separate the reason for the fever from the actual rise in temperature. In other words, was it the flu or the fever that caused the problem.
Another reason is that babies are all exposed at different stages of gestation. At one critical period, a baby might not tolerate it as well as he might at another time, so it is hard to compare all babies across all weeks, even when grouped into the first, second or third trimester.
It does appear that fever CAN cause anomalies in the central nervous system but it does not always. Babies at particular risk of cerebral palsy, for example, are those exposed to high temperatures around the time of labour (but it could also be the bacteria which causes the problem). Neural tube defects are more common in mothers exposed to fever in the first trimester. A triple test or AFP test could help detect this condition.
The body's ability to regulate temperature is truly remarkable. It is unlikely that you maintained a significantly damaging temperature for a long period of time. Many mothers suffer from fever, upper respiratory infections and flu during their pregnancies and give birth to very healthy babies.
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