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Pregnancy Tip No. 2: Five Ways to Relieve Heartburn

TruAdopt • Jan 06, 2017

Heartburn. Seriously? Isn’t that just for overweight old men? Unfortunately, it’s also for expectant moms. But don’t worry. It has nothing to do with your weight (well, maybe a little — the bigger tummy doesn’t help). Mostly, it’s due to one of those many hormones released during pregnancy — specifically progesterone. While it’s doing its important job of relaxing your uterus, it’s also relaxing the little valve that separates your esophagus from your stomach, which allows the gastric acids to shoot back up the pipe. So, there isn’t much you can do to relieve the root cause of the problem, but here are a few tips to minimize the effects:

 

5 Tips to Help Relieve Pregnancy Heartburn

1. Try to eat small, frequent meals rather than a couple of big ones in a day. Basically, don’t fill up too much in one sitting — avoiding lots of fluids with your meal may help too. Drink your water throughout the day, but maybe not at dinner.

2. Don’t eat right before bed. Give your food some time to digest before lying down.

3. Know what triggers it for you. Everyone has different food triggers; while caffeine, chocolate, and citrus are some common ones, yours could be different.

4. Sleep with your head slightly elevated.

5. Try some Tums, or other calcium and magnesium-based antacid. Don’t use any products containing aluminum or sodium bicarbonate, though. Nasty side effects.

 

Talk to your doctor about a stronger prescription if it’s really driving you nuts. You need your rest!

 

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