Heartburn Remedies for the Expecting Mom
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A woman’s body goes through a lot of different changes during pregnancy and some of these changes can cause the repeated occurrence of heartburn. If you’ve never had heartburn before, you will probably have it a lot during pregnancy.
The placenta makes a hormone called progesterone during pregnancy that is needed to relax the muscles inside the uterus. But, the valve that divides the stomach from the esophagus is also relaxed and this allows acids to flow back up.
During digestion, the intestines and esophagus are contracting. These contractions are reduced by progesterone which slows down the digestive process. The growing baby crowding the abdomen also causes acids to be pushed back up through the esophagus.
There are several changes that can be made to your diet that will act as heartburn remedies. Don’t eat foods with a lot of seasoning or foods that are spicy. Highly acidic foods such as tomatoes and ketchup should also be avoided.
Another suggested remedy is to eat several small meals each day, instead of larger meals. Everyone knows that alcohol should be avoided during pregnancy for the health of the baby, but both the consumption of alcohol and caffeine are prone to cause heartburn.
Natural heartburn remedies can be found through changes to your food and drink intake. After that, if you’re still experiencing heartburn there are some over the counter medications that will help with heartburn relief.
Your first choice should probably be chewable antacids. They are usually reliable and should provide fast heartburn relief. There are also liquid antacids that may be used, but be aware that any liquid may naturally cause your stomach to produce even more acids which is counter productive.
When choosing an antacid, the ones that contain aluminium should be avoided. Constipation is often a common problem with pregnancy and taken in large doses aluminium not only causes constipation, but it is very toxic to.
When buying heartburn remedies, read the labels. Do not take them if aspirin or sodium bicarbonate is included in the ingredients. Swelling is one of the problems that pregnant women experience and sodium bicarbonate can make this problem worse.
If none of the remedies that you try bring heartburn relief, ask your doctor about other options. Just remember that taking more than the regular doses can be a bad idea, even over the counter products for heartburn still contain drugs.
