The Surprising Causes and The Secret Remedies for Heartburn and Acidity During Pregnancy
Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it can also bring challenges, especially when it comes to managing acidity and heartburn. The hormonal shifts during pregnancy increase the likelihood of these discomforts in your body. Thus, understanding the causes behind heartburn and acidity during pregnancy is a must. This will help you manage the symptoms well, minimizing the discomfort.
Heartburn is common among pregnant women. Despite its name, it has nothing to do with your heart. It is a symptom of acid reflux or acidity, and it intensifies as your pregnancy progresses.
What is Acidity and Heartburn?
Acidity occurs when stomach acids flow back into your mouth. The term acidity is often used interchangeably with acid reflux. And guess what? Acidity causes heartburn! It feels like a sharp burning sensation in the oesophagus tube (food pipe) carrying food and liquid to your stomach. Some might even feel pain and tightness around their chest. But there is nothing to lose your sleep over. The discomforts associated with heartburn and acidity during pregnancy are quite common, especially in the second and third trimesters.
What is Acid Reflux During Pregnancy?
Acid reflux during pregnancy is often harmless. Generally, when you eat food, it travels through the oesophagus into your stomach. The connection between the oesophagus (tube) and the stomach is controlled by a circular muscle known as the Lower Esophageal sprinter (LES). However, during pregnancy, this LES muscle (in charge of tightening the tube) gets weak and more relaxed. Thus, it does not tighten properly as it used to. This creates a pathway for stomach acids to travel back up to your mouth easily.
However, if you are facing severe acid reflux, consult your doctor before it becomes chronic. But in the meantime, do not stress yourself out.
Why does Heartburn Happen During Pregnancy?
Even though heartburn during pregnancy is quite a common occurrence, there are several scientific reasons behind it. Let’s talk about those:
- Changing Hormonal Levels: There are more hormonal changes in your body during pregnancy. It slows down your digestion and makes you feel bloated. Thus, you often end up with heartburn.
- Relaxation of LES: The muscle relaxation of LES is caused by a pregnancy hormone known as progesterone. And you can already guess what happens once it gets relaxed. Yes! It causes your stomach acids to go back up.
- Enlarged Uterus: The foetus expands more in the second and third trimesters. As a result of this, it puts more pressure on your stomach and expands your uterus too. This ultimately pushes the stomach acids to rise.
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What does Heartburn During Pregnancy Feel Like?
Heartburn during pregnancy creates a burning sensation in your chest. It may be followed by:
- Heavy chest
- Fullness in your stomach
- Burping frequently
- Throwing up food
What are the Symptoms and Causes of Acidity During Pregnancy?
The symptoms of acidity during pregnancy are:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Sore throat
- Burning and bitterness in the mouth
- Bloating in stomach
- Cough
- Discomfort while lying
The causes of acidity during pregnancy are:
- Hormonal changes
- Overweight
- Overeating oily foods
- Certain medications
- Smoking or drinking
What are the Indian Home Remedies for Acidity During Pregnancy?
There are several prescription medicines for treating acid reflux. However, Indian home remedies are often tested to counteract acidity during pregnancy. They are:
- Ginger: It is beneficial during pregnancy as it protects you from indigestion and acid reflux.
- Chewing gums: It would help in increasing the saliva for swallowing food and liquid better.
- Herbal teas: Drinking herbal teas like green tea and chamomile tea can certainly curtail acidity.
- Hydration: Drink lots of water and have fresh juices as an alternative way to hydrate.
- Milk and milk products: Consume milk, ice cream, or yoghurt in cases of acidity.
Conclusion
It is vital to develop a management plan for heartburn and acidity during pregnancy. There are practical ways to alleviate them, and it is crucial to know what works best for you. By implementing the suggested outline of home remedies, you can easily get rid of these discomforts during pregnancy. In cases of persistent symptoms of aggravating heartburn and acidity, kindly consult your doctor for appropriate guidance.
Certain lifestyle changes can make a lot of difference. You can consume fewer oily foods, drink less water while eating, avoid smoking and drinking, and also take smaller portions of food to reduce acidity during pregnancy.
You can try Indian home remedies to treat acid reflux at home, but if the symptoms still persist, kindly consult your doctor for personalised guidance.
For acid reflux during pregnancy, you can take herbal tea, stay hydrated, drink cold milk, and have ice cream, yoghurt, or ginger candies, among other things. These will help alleviate the discomfort.
The acid reflux progresses with your pregnancy and stops right after delivery, so hang in there!
Acidity happens in pregnancy due to hormonal changes, relaxation of the LES, and an enlarged uterus.
You could drink a glass of water and any non-carbonated beverage, like ginger tea, to minimise the discomfort at night.
