Have you ever felt heartburn during pregnancy? You know nothing about how serious it is unless you get pregnant. I can relate to the extremely uncomfortable situations that a pregnant woman feels throughout all three trimesters.
In fact, acid reflux is the most annoying thing you may ever experience in your pregnancy period. Well, there are many people who sufferers and I am writing for those mothers who are facing gastroesophageal reflux like you are and I was at a time.
Hopefully, you will get a relieved life following the directions below. It will demand nothing but a few changes in your regular lifestyle and diet. Let’s get into the details.
When does heartburn generally start during pregnancy?
This happens in the case of every pregnant woman that they feel acid reflux from the very first trimester of pregnancy. This begins from the second month and lasts till the last day of your pregnancy. Probably heartburn is the thing that will suffer a pregnant woman most throughout the pregnancy period.
What causes heartburn during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, the body produces lots of hormones, progesterone and relaxin, that bring lots of changes in your digestion systems. As these hormones keep your muscle tissues relaxed, the foods you consume may move slowly and it results in digestion complexity.
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You may feel serious heartburn. Heartburn during pregnancy occurs when the ring between the oesophagus and stomach gets thin and food can pass to the oesophagus from the stomach. But this is actually good for your baby.
As the foods digest slowly, your body will absorb the nutrition into your bloodstream and gradually into your baby’s body.
What are the symptoms of indigestion and heartburn?
There are a few symptoms of indigestion and heartburn during pregnancy that you can notice very clearly. Some of them are as follows:
- Burning sensation and chest pain
- Heavy or bloated feelings
- Burping
- Breathing problems
- Vomiting
- Feeling sick
Normally, you will get these symptoms after having food or maybe a few minutes after having food. These symptoms are more noticeable after 27 weeks and after.
How do you treat heartburn during pregnancy?
Getting relief from heartburn without having any medicine is the best thing you can do. This is not a tough job at all. This is just changing a bit in your regular lifestyle and also the food habit that you have in normal time.
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Well, the following things can help you to get a healthy and enjoyable pregnancy free from serious heartburn and indigestions. Let’s know what you should do to get rid of heartburn naturally.
1. Chew on sugarless gum
Chewing gum is a very good practice for reducing heartburn during pregnancy. Well, you have to do this approximately after 30 minutes of having food. When you continuously chew the gum, your tongue-glands will produce more saliva and it helps to keep the acid level of the oesophagus controlled.
So, the digestive system will be more effective than before. If you don’t want to consume sugar, you have more options for sugarless gums. You can choose any of them very easily. Some people don’t like the mint flavour in pregnancy. Choose the gum that has a mint-free flavour. This type of gum you can chew more and more.
2. Add almonds
This is a very good habit of having some almonds after getting food. You can take ⅘ almonds after every meal. These nuts are highly nutritious and can enhance the power of your stomach to control the situation. In fact, it neutralizes stomach acid. So you will feel less heartburn.
If you can do this daily, heartburn will be completely prevented. This is highly recommended for your baby’s health as it is full of different crucial elements that your baby needs a lot for healthy growth.
3. Get milk
People think that having milk during pregnancy increases the acidity problem. But this concept is completely wrong. In fact, milk can help you to control the situation when you are feeling serious heartburn.
You just need to get a glass of almond milk after every meal. If it is not possible, try to have it when you feel heartburn. This liquid will help to reduce acid reflux. Almond milk is a great source of calcium that is highly needed in your body and also for the baby.
4. Eat healthily
This is better to prevent heartburn than to control it. You can protect yourself completely from heartburn if you get changes in your regular food habits. You have to avoid all the fried and spicy foods. As you are pregnant, you may feel like having a burger or spicy chicken curry. But you can’t have them.
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Try to get more and more vegetables that will keep the digestive system balanced and also keep you healthy. One more thing. Try to drink lots of water all the time.
5. Stop smoking
If you do smoke, quit it right now. Smoking during pregnancy is a serious issue that causes health damage hilariously, not only for yourself but also for your baby.
Smoking is responsible for indigestion and gradually heartburn. When you smoke, the chemicals that you inhale harms your baby a lot. In fact, it may cause premature birth of your child and also weightlessness. So quit smoking as soon as possible.
6. Avoid Alcohol
If you drink alcohol, you have to quit it. Drinking alcohol can harm your digestive system and create heartburn. This is not only harmful to your health but also to your baby. So, make sure that you won’t even take a sip of alcohol during pregnancy.
When do you get medical help?
After following all the suggestions of your midwife and changing your food habit, if you still feel serious heartburn during pregnancy, you should contact a gynaecologist for getting medicines and other medical solutions. You should go to the doctor when you feel the following issues:
- Difficulty in eating
- Weight Loss
- Breathing problems
- Stomach pain
- Keeping food down
You should keep in mind another crucial thing during pregnancy. Never take any medicine without doctors consent and prescriptions. A regular and simple medicine for acidity can harm your baby a lot. So be careful about that.
Takeaway
As pregnancy is the most beautiful and memorable period of your life, we don’t want you to have any bad experiences, especially indigestions or heartburn during pregnancy.
With that vision, we tried our best to include all the facts that you should know regarding what heartburn actually is, why it happens and how you can control it.
This is genuinely a complete guide. You will get a comfortable and relaxed pregnancy period if you obey all the suggestions we have provided above. So, I hope for the best.
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