34. Safe Natural Cold Remedies for Pregnant & Nursing Mamas (That Actually Work!)

In this episode I'm sharing my go-to natural remedies for healing from colds and flu during pregnancy and breastfeeding—practical solutions that have helped me and countless clients navigate sickness without relying on medication.

This cold and flu season has been particularly challenging for so many mamas in my community. When you're already pouring everything into growing or nursing a baby, getting sick can feel overwhelming—especially when you're unsure what's safe to take. After my own battle with a severe respiratory infection during my pregnancy with Daniel, I learned firsthand how important it is to have gentle, effective remedies ready.

Whether you're currently fighting a cold, want to be prepared for flu season, or simply prefer natural healing methods that honor how God designed our bodies—this episode is packed with practical wisdom and encouragement for your recovery journey.

In this episode, I share:

💧 My hydration strategy that goes beyond "just drink water" (including my favorite electrolyte recommendation) 

😴 How to actually rest when you have little ones to care for (guilt-free!) 

🫖 The golden milk latte recipe my daughter now requests when she's sick 

🌿 Grandma's remedies that are backed by science for sore throat relief 

🙏 When to trust your mama instincts and call your provider 

Scripture Shared: 

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." – Isaiah 40:29 (NIV)

Mentioned in this episode: 

💛 LMNT Electrolytes – My favorite natural electrolyte powder 

🍲 Bare Bones Bone Broth – Individual packets perfect for quick healing 

📸 Golden Milk Latte Recipe – Find the recipe on my Instagram @faithoverfearbirthdoula

✨ Christian Mama Birth Prep Library - Free birth prep tools, worship playlists & more

✝️ Online Christian Childbirth Education - Explore my complete birth preparation self-paced course

📞 Free 15-Minute Discovery Call: Schedule your no-obligation consultation with me today! I would LOVE to connect with you.

🎴 NEW Christian Birth Affirmation Cards: You can now purchase them here

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a pregnant or nursing friend who needs these remedies.

Let's keep choosing faith over fear, one decision at a time. Go here for the full blog post, show notes, and all resources mentioned!

Transcript

Natalie Portman: 0:45

Hey there, mama, and welcome back to the podcast. Today's episode is about how we can naturally heal and recover from illnesses like a cold when you're pregnant and or if you're breastfeeding. You might be like me, where you take medication very sparingly and you'd prefer to try non-medication routes for treating your symptoms. So today I wanted to share some natural remedies that have worked really well for me and my family. I wanted to record this episode because it's definitely cold and flu season right now where I am, and so many of my clients are dealing with this right now. It reminded me how challenging it can be when you're trying to care for little ones while also taking care of yourself. Whether you're growing a baby or nursing one, your body is already working so hard, and then when sickness hits, it feels overwhelming. Not knowing what's safe to take. So I've compiled my favorite go-to remedies that are gentle, effective, and safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding. These are things I actually use in my own home, including my Golden Milk latte recipe that my daughter now asks for when she's not feeling well. And before we jump in though, I do want to mention that nothing I share today is medical advice. These are supportive remedies that work well for me and many other mamas. But always check with your provider to make sure anything you try is right for you and your specific situation. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding and feeling under the weather, you're definitely not alone. Our immune systems shift during pregnancy to protect the baby, which can sometimes make us more susceptible to catching whatever's going around. And then if you add postpartum life where you're not sleeping as much, you're in close contact with your little ones. And just the general overwhelm of being a mama. It's no wonder that we sometimes feel run down. So let's dive into some of my favorite remedies. The first being hydration when pregnant or breastfeeding your body is already working over time and using a ton of fluids, so add a cold or other sickness on top of that, and dehydration can set in very quickly. Prioritize warm fluids. So things like herbal teas, warm lemon water bone broth or soup if you're experiencing a sore throat or cough. Warm liquids not only help break up the mucus, but it also is very soothing and coating to your throat. If you're nauseated or really congested cold water with citrus like lemon juice can feel more refreshing. So set a timer to sip every 20 to 30 minutes if you're finding that remembering to stay hydrated is difficult for you. Another tip is introducing electrolytes. I love electrolytes, especially if you're breastfeeding. So choose natural electrolyte powders that do not have any artificial dyes or sweeteners. My absolute favorite is Element LMNT, and I'll link this in the show notes. But this is a great option because they come in individual packet. And so you can keep them in your pantry all year round, and then whenever you need them, they're right there and they take up hardly any space. And now that we've covered hydration, let's talk about something that feels a little bit harder to attain and that is rest. So rest is not laziness, it's truly medicine. Growing a baby or caring for a baby already taxes your energy reserves. So when you're fighting illness, your body needs even more downtime to heal. So first thing is try to take naps if at all possible, and do these guilt-free. This is a hard one for me. Whenever I rest or take a nap, there's a part of me that feels oh, Natalie, you should be doing so many other things. But if you're sick, you really cannot afford to not rest. So even a short 20 to 30 minute power nap or cat nap, those can go a long way. Also go to bed earlier than usual. Even if that means not taking care of things like dishes or other things you had to do that evening, ask for help from your husband, your family, or your church community. And then another little tip is to just set up a quiet time box or a special set of toys for your older kids to play with. Instead of, feeling like you need to entertain them constantly if actually napping is not really an option for you. When I'm sick and Brian's at work, I honestly, I let my kids have extra TV time so I can lay on the couch and just rest and watch the TV with them. And this is just me in survival mode, and that is okay. There is so much grace for the days where our capacity is limited. And if you're breastfeeding, you might notice that your milk supply might dip a little bit. When you're sick and that is normal, just continue to rest and hydrate and it will come back. But trust your body, it knows what to do. Another tip is to introduce steam, humidity, and saline. So this is really great if you're especially congested. Some things you can do is some steam therapy, like taking a warm shower and just taking some deep inhales. Another thing you could do is just fill up a bowl with hot water and drape a towel over your head so you can more deeply inhale that steam for like five, 10 minutes.. If your provider is okay with it, maybe even consider adding a drop of eucalyptus oil. That just helps open up those airways. Another thing you can do is keep a humidifier in your bedroom at night or when you nap, and you'll want to clean out that humidifier weekly so that you're not building up mold and making yourself more sick. And then you wanna make sure that you're placing the mist in whatever room, if it's your room or your baby's room, to where it's not hitting you directly, it's just in the room, but not hitting you directly. And then using saline spray. I am such a big fan of saline spray, even when I'm not sick. Like I just have seasonal allergies, but I use saline nasal spray a few times a day, and that just helps, especially even when you're pregnant, you just get a little bit more congested. But that's a really safe option. Just make sure that the saline spray you're using does not include medication, that it's just pure saline spray. Another thing you can do for a sore throat is go back to grandma's remedies. So this means, things like gargling salt water. So if you mix a half a teaspoon in with eight ounces of warm water, gargle this for 10 to 20 seconds, and then spit and repeat two to four times a day. That salt water will help reduce inflammation naturally. Another thing you can do is do honey, lemon water. And so you take a tablespoon of honey, add some fresh lemon juice to warm water, and then just sip that allow that heat to soothe your throat. The honey helps soothe and then the vitamin C that comes from the lemon. If you are immunocompromised, I would avoid raw honey. And just a reminder, do not give babies under one honey. So this is really just meant for mama and older kids. Another thing you can do is introduce more nourishing foods. So think you know, chicken soup and bone broth. There's actual science behind why chicken soup helps and it hydrates provides nutrients and even helps thin mucus an even easier alternative to, making your own chicken soup, which I do recommend is having some bone broth and there's a really great brand I think it's called Bare Bones, and they have a really awesome beef bone broth that I love. Like the flavor is amazing and it comes in individual packets. That is a great option. So I'll link that in the show notes and then increase your vitamin C rich foods. So this looks like citrus fruits, berries, kiwi, red bell peppers, which actually they have more vitamin C than even oranges, tomatoes, and leafy greens. So introduce these as much as possible the chicken soup recipe that I make. Includes things like turmeric and leafy greens. So that's, an added benefit too. And then now onto my Golden milk latte or the turmeric latte that we just love in our house. So I actually have a picture of this recipe saved on my Instagram because I make it so often, and I just thought it would be so helpful for other families to be able to use it. And I'll link that in the show notes, but the star ingredient in the turmeric latte or the golden milk latte is turmeric. And this has powerful anti-inflammatory properties that can help soothe your throat and support your immune system naturally. And I actually even love making this before bed. Sometimes I'll just make it as like kind of a treat.'cause it's just so delicious it's so comforting and healing. So let's talk about something else that's really crucial, which is getting support when you're sick. As mamas, we really do try to push through, but that's not always what's best for our healing. So the first thing that you will want to start to grow in is communicating your needs. Be specific. Instead of saying, Hey, I need help to your husband say. Honey, can you handle bedtime tonight so I can get to bed early? Make a simple list of daily tasks that need covering, and don't wait until you're desperate. Ask early. If you start to feel under the weather, start asking for help so that your body can have the best chance of fighting whatever it's dealing with. Some other things you can consider is, having people from your church bring meals for you. Having some friends or family take over, helping with older kids, having your husband, take over the night shift if you're not nursing if you're little ones waking up in the night or just having like. your parents the grandparents helping with, household tasks. But just remember accepting help is not weakness. It's really wisdom. Your family needs you healthy, and this is a great way to practice in the immediate postpartum time where you will need to learn to delegate these tasks so that you can recover and rest from giving birth. And I will be completely honest, this is probably one of the hardest things for me to do because I really like. To have things done in a particular way, in a particular time. But this is something that the Lord has really been showing me how to just release and let go of so that I can lean on others to, just show me how much they love me and just be accepting that things are gonna be done differently. And that's okay. You need this rest and recovery time. So these natural remedies are, of course, wonderful support tools, but I want to again, be very clear about when you need medical attention. So please call your provider if you experience a fever over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. That's not responding to the rest and hydration and things like that. If you find yourself short of breath or having some chest pain, having severe signs of dehydration, you're dizzy, your urine is very dark your mouth is very dry. If your symptoms are just continuing to get worse after days three and four. If you're pregnant and you're just noticing the baby is moving less or just anything else in your gut, your intuition that's telling you something just doesn't feel right. I want you to really trust your mama instincts that are God-given. You know your body better than anyone else, and if something doesn't feel right, make that call to your provider. It is way better to be safe than sorry. And then before we wrap up today, I did want to just speak some encouragement over you. One time I, got really sick whenever I was pregnant with Daniel, and I remember feeling so frustrated because I was dealing with a cold that turned into a really bad upper respiratory infection and I got laryngitis, like I couldn't even speak like it was. It was so bad and I still had to take care of Ellie, my toddler at the time like young toddler at the time. And I had work to do being a mama just trying to survive like honestly, and I just so badly wanted to feel better immediately, but God really did use that time to help teach me about surrender and trust. And so I wanted to point out Isaiah 40 29 and it says. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even in sickness, God is near and your body was designed with incredible healing capabilities, and he walks with you even in these moments of discomfort and frustration and exhaustion. Now I would just love to, to pray over you. Oh Lord Jesus I lift up this mama who's listening to the sound of my voice, and maybe she's feeling really awful right in this moment, and I ask for your healing hand to just rest on her body from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. I pray that you would just strengthen her immune system, that you would calm any of her fears about her and her. Baby and I just pray that you would surround her with your perfect peace. Lord Jesus, I ask that you would just give her the rest that she needs, the support that she needs, and the confidence that her body was wonderfully made. I ask that you would help her to trust in your timing for healing, and we thank you that you are our ultimate healer, the great physician, and that nothing is too difficult for you. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you so much for spending this time with me today, and I really do hope and pray that these remedies help you feel better and less helpless when it comes to knowing what to do when sickness strikes. And if you found this episode helpful and you would like continuing support in your pregnancy, birth, or postpartum season, I would love to invite you to book a free 15 minute discovery call with me, whether you're looking for virtual birth support, childbirth education, or just someone to help you navigate this season that you're in with Faith Over Fear. I am here for you and Mama. Remember to rest, hydrate. Breathe deeply. You are doing a wonderful job, and this season, this very difficult season will pass. Your body is so much stronger than you know, and you are never alone in this journey. Until next time, keep choosing Faith over Fear. I'll see you in the next episode.