by staff

In pregnancy, a woman goes through a lot of physical and mental changes. Due to hormonal changes, there are some symptoms that are developed inside a woman’s body. One of the common symptoms is heartburn. When life is growing inside, diseases like gestational diabetes or heartburn is likely to occur. Indigestion or heartburn occurs when the baby is pressing against the stomach while growing inside the womb.

Causes of heartburn during pregnancy

You are most likely to get heartburn due to the following reasons:

• Baby pressing against your stomach
• Hormonal changes
• Acids travel up the esophagus due to muscle relaxation
• Past history of heartburn and indigestion

Due to these reasons, heartburn can irritate the digestive system. Due to indigestion, women can suffer from irritability and mood swings.

Symptoms of heartburn

Some of the common symptoms of heartburn during pregnancy are as follows:

• Burning sensation in the chest
• Bloating
• Burping
• Nausea
• Acid reflux

Some of the symptoms can be felt immediately after eating something spicy. These symptoms appear mostly after 27 weeks of pregnancy.

Ways to treat heartburn

After conception, women are advised to adopt some healthy lifestyle changes. These changes may help treat various pregnancy problems like heartburn, gestational diabetes, or hair fall.

1. Eat healthy vegetables and fruits

Eating something extra spicy can also cause heartburn. Spices affect your stomach and may cause food poisoning as well. Try to eat small meals in between after every 2 to 3 hours. Vegetables and fruit salad are a good option. Cut down on caffeine or carbonated drinks as they might prove to be harmful to your health.

2. Do not crouch while eating

Try to sit straight while eating as crouching can put pressure on your stomach. In this way, the acids in the stomach can be prevented from going up the esophagus.

3. Quit smoking

Smoking in pregnancy may not only affect your overall health but also the help of the baby. It can cause heartburn. The chemicals that you inhale from cigarettes cause indigestion. Acid reflux can easily occur as the muscles get relaxed from the esophagus allowing the acids to travel up the throat. Smoking may result in the premature birth of the baby, low birth weight, or cot death.

4. Stop drinking alcohol

Alcohol is extremely harmful in pregnancy as it can cause damage to the fetus. Avoid drinking alcohol at any cost.

5. Medications

Consult with your midwife or GP regarding the heartburn. They may prescribe you some medicines like Dexilant. You can get 90 day supply of Dexilant from an online pharmacy called 90daymeds. They offer medications at discounted prices. If you are taking some prescription medicines like antidepressants, you must mention them to your GP to see whether they making indigestion worse or not.

Some common medicines to treat heartburn and indigestion are as follows:

• Antacids – these are over-the-counter medicines to relieve the inflammation in the chest
• Alginates – these medicines prevent acid reflux by stopping the acids from coming upward to the esophagus.

Paid post