Staying healthy is a priority for pregnant women. A healthy mom means a better chance for a healthy baby. So what do you do when something like the latest in-the-news illness – swine flu – hits a community near you? There are actually many practical things you can do to keep yourself and your baby as healthy as possible.

A little-known fact about the influenza virus is that all flu viruses originate with poultry or pigs. When the virus infecting one of these animals combines with a human influenza virus, it mutates and becomes able to infect humans, as with this most recent swine flu, technically called Influenza A (H1N1). Flu viruses are spread through the respiratory tract – mouth, nose and even eyes.

"Symptoms of swine flu in pregnant women are the same as those in non-pregnant individuals and are similar to symptoms of other forms of flu," says Dr. Pamela D. Berens, an OB/GYN at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. "Common symptoms include fever (temperature greater than 37.8 degrees Celsius or 100 degrees Fahrenheit), chills, cough, congestion, muscle aches, headache and possibly vomiting and diarrhea."

Symptoms of the flu of any type – "typical" or swine flu – vary in severity, so pregnant women should be cautious. Even flu that isn't associated with an epidemic/pandemic as the swine flu currently is can be more likely to cause serious illness during pregnancy, especially in later months. Respiratory complications such as pneumonia, as well as dehydration from frequent vomiting and diarrhea, may result in the need for hospitalization.

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