Ah, pregnancy – it's such an amazing experience! Feeling your baby move for the first time and watching your belly grow can be truly magical. But as with anything worthwhile in life, there are also some not-so-fun aspects of pregnancy. One of those is heartburn.
If you're experiencing acid indigestion, stomach acid backing up into your esophagus, you're not alone! In fact,up to 80% of expecting moms suffer from this painful symptom at some point during their pregnancies. So what causes it and how can you get relief? Let's dive in!
The Causes
During pregnancy, a number of changes occur in your body that increase the likelihood of developing heartburn:
Hormones
Pregnancy hormones cause relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which is the valve between your stomach and esophagus that normally keeps gastric acid where it belongs – inside your stomach.
Pressure
As baby grows and takes up more space inside your abdomen, pressure on both the LES and digestive system increases.
Eating Habits
Fast food or eating late at night wreak havoc on our digestive system even when we are not pregnant but doing so during all times particularly among pregnant women do more harm than good/
The combination of these factors often leads to acid reflux symptoms making you feel like there’s a few copies' worth papers stuck beneath your sternum - trust us when we say this isn't something anyone looks forward to experiencing.
Foods & Drinks That Trigger Heartburn
Just like certain foods can cause indigestion amongst individuals who aren't pregnant; Pregnant women too have specific triggers associated with worsening heart burn towards high levels.The following common culprits should be avoided if possible:
- Spicy meals
- Acidic fruits
- Tomatoes /ketchup sauces
- Fried foods/fast foods
- Coffee/tea especially when taken in with or without snacks
While completely excluding them from your diet, You can ideally replace the above high levels of triggers with safer, less acidic alternatives.
How to Combat Heartburn
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Drink Milk – Milk is good for bones and it also helps keep stomach acid where it belongs – inside your stomach. Not only that but milk provides instant relief after drinking.
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Wear Loose Clothing – Avoid tight clothes that put pressure on your abdomen as this would increase chances of acid reflux's episodes taking over.
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Try Natural Remedies – Ginger and cinnamon help aid digestion processes within the body. They provide great benefits to our bodies generally; either indirectly by improving mental health or directly alleviating symptoms associated with poor digestive system such as reducing inflammation hence giving relieve.
A majority of pregnant women discover increased discomfort while sleeping during late pregnancy period which results from general body aches like back pain,lack of comfortable positions when lying down,experiencing fatigue due to constantly tossing around,increase heart burn problems amongst others.More important than anything else though is cutting out trigger foods/drinks whenever possible and finding an optimal position to sleep that reduces symptoms.To achieve this, try the following;
1) Sleeping Propped Up - Use standard pillows you have at home (in addition to purchasing specialized pillows made just for pregnant women). This will allow you some semblance elevation angle-off effectively helping decrease reoccurring heart burns' prevalence level , every night.
Bedier yet ana inflatable bed wedge may suffice well by providing incline pillow arrangement effective enough in creating a slope /elevate posture while relaxing.
2) Left-Side Sleeping:This sleeping position has plenty more advantages beyond eradicating hear burn symptom.Your circulation improves greatly maintaining an adequate blood supply going into the placenta which improves both mother & child's nutrition requirement.
Medications
If you've tried everything possible without much success, it may be time to consult your healthcare provider about the option of using some medication such as:
- Antacids - These work by neutralizing stomach acid.
- H2 blockers (e.g., ranitidine) – These reduce the amount of acid produced in the stomach
- A proton pump inhibitor e.g omeprazole– Reduces access or production that creates a good environment for refluxing.
In conclusion treat yourself like an egg during pregnancy and practice self-care measures effectively.Forget about diet-eating habits you could get away with prior to getting pregnant; Be mindful of everything overly acidic or spicy foods that your system can't quite tolerate since this has been known to cause unhappy gastric symptoms especially when lying down. Heartburn isn't something you have to just accept so use above tips properly to minimize heart burn symptoms greatly throughout course of gestation period.Step into 'Mother mode' and maintain appropriate eating habits today!