Heartburn During Pregnancy – Is This Normal?
Many women who suffer with heartburn during pregnancy wonder if it’s a symptom of a more serious problem. They wonder if they are healthy and okay or if there is something wrong with their bodies that would cause them to experience heartburn symptoms so severely. If you are one of the many women who struggles with heartburn during pregnancy, there are a few things you need to know to find heartburn relief.
The Reasons You Suffer
The reasons that you might be struggling with heartburn symptoms during pregnancy can be numerous, but it’s likely that you don’t have a very big problem at all. However, taking care of your symptoms has a lot to do with identifying the causes of the problem.
As the baby within you grows, everything inside your body becomes compressed. Your uterus is growing and this can put pressure on the bladder and will also grow up toward the stomach region. When this begins to happen you can experience more heartburn symptoms, which is why many women find they have worse heartburn at the end of their pregnancy. You’re not abnormal and you’re not sick, you just have a baby pressing on your stomach, which will decrease the amount of room your stomach has to digest the food you eat.
More Reasons For Heartburn During Pregnancy
Another reason that you might have heartburn symptoms during your pregnancy is that your hormones are reacting differently within your body than they did before. This is also thought to be a major cause of morning sickness and can also be linked to your heartburn symptoms. Foods don’t taste the same or digest the same way when you’re pregnant and one of the most common problems associated with these changes in your body is heartburn.
What You Can Do For Heartburn Relief
Now, even though you know that heartburn symptoms during pregnancy are common and completely normal, that doesn’t mean that you want to be forced to struggle with them for the whole nine months you’re carrying your bundle of joy. There are some things which you can do to help ease your pain and begin feeling better without having to worry about hurting the baby.
- Avoid lying down for at least a half hour after you eat. In the case of severe heartburn, you may need to wait up to two hours. If you do need to lie down, make sure to prop yourself up with pillows so that you avoid some of the more severe heartburn symptoms.
- Eat several small meals throughout the day. This will make it easier to offset some of your heartburn symptoms while you’re pregnant and you’ll also find you are better able to digest your food and control your hunger.
- Watch what foods you eat. Even though pickles and ice cream sound good, they might not be so great for your stomach. Stick to milder foods such as rice, unseasoned cooked chicken breast and bananas when your symptoms are really bad and avoid caffeine, sugars and spicy foods for a while.
While these are only a few tips to help you ease your heartburn during pregnancy, they are usually enough to help you get through and stop the pain. The good news is that you might find that after the baby is born you don’t have any heartburn symptoms again and that will be the most complete and welcome heartburn relief.
Are There Any Heartburn Treatments During Pregnancy?
Getting heartburn pregnancy relief can be quite a challenge because this is a particular time in most women’s lives when they are quite wary of using medications for fear of harming the baby in some way. The good news is that there are natural treatments you can use for heartburn during pregnancy. However, it is still best to consult with your medical practitioner before trying anything new.
Heartburn Medications to Avoid
Although most heartburn pregnancy relief medications are safe for the mother and the baby, there are certain drugs that should still be avoided at all costs if you are pregnant, such as those that have some aluminum content. If aluminum stays inside the body for long periods, it can become toxic and pose a serious threat to your baby’s development. Also, it can cause constipation, which is something that most pregnant women already have enough of.
Another type of heartburn pregnancy relief drug that is not highly recommended are antacids that contain sodium citrate or sodium bicarbonate. Although these medications may relieve your heartburn symptoms, the sodium content will also worsen your water retention issues.
There are also some other antacids that are ordinarily effective as heartburn remedies but should not be taken by pregnant women, like Alka-Seltzer which contains aspirin, and Mylanta which contains magnesium. These substances can be dangerous to use during pregnancy because they can cause internal bleeding, stomach ulcers and premature contractions.
Natural Heartburn Remedies During Pregnancy
If you are averse to using heartburn pregnancy relief medications, like most pregnant women are, you can also try a number of natural remedies to help you get rid of the pain and discomfort caused by heartburn. One easy way is to avoid tight clothing, especially around the stomach and abdomen areas. Some pregnancy experts also recommend chewing gum to increase the production of saliva to help stabilize the acids in your stomach, which are the usual cause of heartburn.
You can also try eating several smaller meals during the day instead of the usual two or three large ones. Also, if you have eaten a particularly large meal, make sure to wait at least two hours before lying down to sleep to give your body sufficient time to digest the food first.
Getting proper exercise is also an excellent step towards heartburn pregnancy relief. But before doing any kind of workout routine, make sure to check with your doctor first to make sure that your movements are safe both for you and your growing baby.
There is also a natural remedy for heartburn during pregnancy, called Digesto-K Sprinkles. You may find it provides the heartburn relief you need.
