Shawn Johnson East Is ‘Absolutely Terrified’ That She’s Going to Get Her Baby Sick – What To Expect When You’re Expecting

Its officially cold and flu season, and not even the East family is immune to getting sick. Shawn Johnson East says shes terrified her baby daughter Drew will get sick after both she and husband Andrew developed colds.

"We are all comingdown with colds and I'm absolutely terrified that I'm going to give it to Drew," Johnson East said in a new Instagram story video. "My hands are literally bleeding, I'm washing them so much." Johnson East also asked fans for advice on how to keep her baby daughter safe.

Unfortunately, this is a common problem during cold and flu season.You dont want to give it to your baby and yet this is what happens in families, says Danelle Fisher, M.D., F.A.A.P., a pediatrician and vice chair of pediatrics at Providence Saint Johns Health Center.

But, if a cold strikes your house, there are a few things you can do to try to keep your baby safe.

The most important thing is hand washing. I encourage people to wash their hands frequently with soap and water for at least two minutes, says Patricia Garcia, M.D., a pediatrician at Connecticut Childrens.

She also recommends sanitizing areas of your home that get a lot of traffic, like kitchen countertops or the bathroom sink. And, even though its tough, try to keep kissing your baby to a minimum if you're under the weather to avoid spreading germs, Dr. Fisher says.

Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze (in the crook of your arm to keep germs off your hands) can also help, says infectious disease expertAmeshA.Adalja, M.D.,senior scholarat the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. (To protect against the flu, babies who are six months or older should receive theflu vaccine.)

If your baby was premature, it's particularly important to take preventive steps because colds can hit preemies harder, says Dr. Garcia.

You might even consider wearing a face mask around your little one, adds Dr. Adalja, but it can be logistically hard to do you have to keep it on all the time and not touch your face underneath the mask.

If youre breastfeeding, its important to keep on nursing your baby.You spread antibodies to the baby through your breast milk, Dr. Fisher says. Its really protective.

Even if you follow every precaution possible, theres still a chance your baby might get sick.The viruses that cause the common cold are very contagious, and you can be contagious before you even realize you have a cold, Dr. Adalja says.

If your baby does end up catching the cold, she should be okay.Most babies handle it well, Dr. Adalja says. They can be uncomfortable for a couple of days but not something you should worry about too much.

Still, a babys reaction to colds can vary, Dr. Garcia says, which is why its important to talk to your pediatrician if your little one does happen to get sick. It's especially important to get checked if she seems lethargic or is having any difficulty breathing.

In most cases, your baby will do just fine with supportive care, like using asnot sucker to get rid of nasal mucus, using a humidifier and trying to keep her head elevated as much as possible, Dr. Fisher says.

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Shawn Johnson East Is 'Absolutely Terrified' That She's Going to Get Her Baby Sick - What To Expect When You're Expecting