Pregnancy causes several changes in a woman’s body. Many of these symptoms are usually uncomfortable for the pregnant lady. Hence, people try to find simple relief measures to alleviate or lessen the ill feelings associated with pregnancy-related changes. One of the most common discomforts of pregnancy is heartburn.
Why is heartburn common among pregnant women?
Heartburn is a condition wherein a person feels stomach acid come back against the esophageal structures. This causes a burning feeling near the chest region. This is the origin for the name term heartburn.
Among pregnant women, this happens because of hormonal changes that are needed to sustain the pregnancy. The rise in the hormone progesterone in a woman’s body also causes certain changes in the body. A common effect of progesterone is loosening soft tissue structures, including the valve or sphincter that keeps stomach acid from regurgitating or rising to the walls of the esophagus. This causes the woman to have heartburn. Compound this with the problem of the enlarging uterus that presses on the stomach cavity to release acid up to the esophageal tract. This is the reason why heartburn in pregnancy is fairly common.
What can you do to alleviate symptoms of heartburn among pregnant women?
Here are some measures that you can apply to help pregnant women experiencing heartburn.
1. Frequent meals – The acid in the stomach serves a purpose in digestion. The acidity of the stomach serves as a tool to aid the digestion process. When there is nothing to digest, the acidity of the stomach rises to an intolerable level. Frequent meals will lessen the stomach’s acidity.
2. Avoid acid-inducing foods or those that cause gastrointestinal upset – Such irritating foods like alcohol, chocolate and carbonated drinks could cause further gastrointestinal imbalance.
3. Sleep with one or two pillows ate the back – Measures to relieve heartburn in pregnancy includes elevating yourself while sleeping. This raises the esophagus so that acid will not easily move in. This can be quite common in the flat position that we assume while sleeping.
Knowing these pregnancy heartburn relief strategies will spare a lot of pregnant women from the discomforts of heartburn.
