Dealing With Heartburn During Pregnancy
Heartburn, often referred to indigestion, is caused when acid rises up out of the stomach and irritates the esophagus. I suffered from sever heartburn while I was pregnant, which is what prompted me to write this article.
During pregNancy the stomach is pushed upwards as the baby grows. This means that most woMen only suffer from heartburn in the third trimester of pregNancy. Unfortunate if you are a petite lady, this can occur before then due to having less space in your stomach than taller ladies.
There are several things that cause heartburn, but the main ones are;- caffeine, tomatoes, alcohol, tobacco, citrus fruits and juices and chocolate as these relax the lower esophageal sphincter letting stomach acid leak up into the esophagus.
Eating fatty Foods or anything that takes a long time to digest can also cause heartburn, hence the term indigestion.
There is no real way to avoid it when you are pregnant, although staying away from the above Foods and eating smaller portions more often will help.
As most heartburn is experienced when lying down, the main thing to do is remember that after taking any antacid you should not eat or drink as this will counter effect what the antacid is designed to do. Obviously you will eat and drink at the next meal.
My preferred antacid was Gaviscon. It conveniently comes in sachets, so I always took the right amount (you can take two sachets at one time) and could carry it with me everywhere.
