Foods To Help Heartburn
- Foods high in water content, like cucumber, grapes, courgettes, lettuce, blueberries are fabulous for helping heartburn, as they are fab for neutralising stomach acid.
- Pineapple and papaya are high in digestive enzymes.
- Apple cider vinegar is known to help balance the stomach Ph acidity that can help heartburn.
- Celery is also known to help heartburn. This article explains celeries health benefits in more details
- Eating Almonds can help, as the natural milk produced from it can soothe heartburn.
- Drinking ginger tea, is not only a great natural diuretic and cleanser for the body, and packed full of vitamins and minerals, it also has amazing benefits, including helping lessen acid reflux and helping morning sickness. Heres a medical article for more information
- Try eating more liquid based foods to help the body digest easier. Soups and smoothies, may become your best friend.
What Causes Bad Acid Reflux At 38 Weeks Of Pregnancy
Acid reflux is absolutely atrocious when you are at 38 weeks of pregnancy. I have experienced it twice. It is one of the worst feelings you have when tired, exhausted, carrying the 7-pound baby around your belly 24/7.
Acid reflux or heartburn can occur any time during pregnancy, and you can blame it on pregnancy hormones like anything else during pregnancy.
Pregnancy hormones cause the sphincter muscle to relax, allowing stomach acid to enter the esophagus, causing heartburn. Also, a babys growth can squish the stomach, causing stomach acids to enter the esophagus rather than stay in, which is why some pregnant women vomit stomach acid in the middle of the night.
So, heartburn or acid reflux is unavoidable when the baby is full-term and you have loose sphincter muscles.
But what can you do to relieve acid reflux in the third trimester?
Relieving acid reflux or heartburn at 38 weeks is trial and error. There is no universal remedy that works for everyone. So, you may need to try several until you find the one that gives you some relief.
Prevention And Treatment Of Heartburn During Pregnancy
To ease heartburn during pregnancy without medications, you should try the following:
- Eat several small meals each day instead of three large ones.
- Avoid fatty, fried, spicy, or rich foods.
- Avoid chocolate, coffee, caffeine, and mint.
- Drink less fluid while eating. Drinking large amounts while eating may increase the risk of acid reflux and heartburn.
- Don’t lie down right after eating.
- Keep the head of your bed higher than the foot of your bed.
- Wear loose-fitting clothing. Tight-fitting clothes can increase the pressure on your stomach and abdomen.
- Try to sleep on your left side. Your stomach is on the left, so it’s harder for acids to get into the esophagus at this angle.
- Chew a piece of gum. This creates more saliva with bicarbonate, which neutralizes the acid in the esophagus when swallowed.
If your heartburn persists, see your doctor. They may recommend over-the-counter antacids or prescribe drugs that are safe to take during pregnancy. Pregnancy-related heartburn usually disappears after childbirth.
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When Can I Expect The Heartburn To End During Pregnancy
Unfortunately, heartburn is a symptom you’re likely to experience throughout your entire pregnancy if you have it at all.
In fact, even if you escaped indigestion early on in your pregnancy, there’s a good chance you’ll have a surge starting around the second or third trimesters, when your uterus takes over your abdominal cavity and forces your stomach upwards.
Fortunately, the burn should clear up as soon as you give birth.
Opt For A Cold Ice Cream
Another popular medication prescribed is ice cream. This has a similar cooling effect as milk, because of the temperature. Its easy to swallow, and youll be able to get the immediate, temporary relief.
But isnt ice cream full of sugar? Well, yes and no. You could make your own at home from mashed banana, milk, and cream. That will help to keep the calories to a minimum, and youll get more nutrients.
Try to avoid chocolate flavored ice cream. If buying it from the store, plain vanilla or banana are the best options.
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How Do I Treat Heartburn During Pregnancy
When youre growing a human being, you dont have time for that yucky acid reflux. But your usual go-to methods for treating it may not be safe for your unborn baby.
Instead, here are some of the safest and best ways to get rid of heartburn when youre pregnant:
When You Should See A Doctor For Heartburn
Wellenstein tells Insider that heartburn is “rarely a cause for major concern in pregnancy, especially if a woman didn’t have an issue with it prior to pregnancy.”
However, if symptoms become more frequent or severe despite lifestyle and dietary attempts, or “if she develops nausea and vomiting due to the severity of the heartburn, she should promptly alert her doctor. And it is a medical emergency if she begins vomiting blood, since this may indicate a more serious condition related to heartburn,” Wellenstein says.
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Does Pregnancy Cause Heartburn
Pregnancy increases your risk of heartburn or acid reflux. During the first trimester, muscles in your esophagus push food more slowly into the stomach and your stomach takes longer to empty.
This gives your body more time to absorb nutrients for the fetus, but it can also result in heartburn.
During the third trimester, the growth of your baby can push your stomach out of its normal position, which can lead to heartburn.
However, each woman is different. Being pregnant doesnt necessarily mean youll have heartburn. It depends on many factors, including your physiology, diet, daily habits, and your pregnancy.
Relieving heartburn during pregnancy typically involves some trial and error. Lifestyle habits that can reduce heartburn are often the safest methods for mother and baby. The following tips may help relieve your heartburn:
Alternative medicine options include acupuncture and relaxation techniques, such as progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, or guided imagery. Always check with your doctor before trying new treatments.
Consume Apple Cider Vinegar
Raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar is one of the best things you can have to control heartburn during pregnancy.
Even though apple cider vinegar is acidic, it helps balance the acid production in the stomach or buffer the acid activity.
Apple cider vinegar is also good your health and the baby growing inside your womb.
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Stay Positive And Enjoy The Experience
Staying positive and stress-free helps a lot while dealing with bad acid reflux at 38 weeks of pregnancy. The solution to heartburn is probably in your kitchen. Making certain dietary and lifestyle modifications and home remedies work for most healthy pregnant women. If any of these remedies do not work for you, try another.
The most important part is, you are growing a little miracle in your body, and trust me, they are worth the discomfort. However, if heartburn symptoms persist, seek medical attention.
Did you have bad acid reflux at 38 weeks of pregnancy? What worked for you to reduce the episode of acid reflux? Leave your comments below.
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How To Prevent Heartburn While Pregnant
While there are many methods for treating heartburn, you will probably want to prevent heartburn in the first place. There are some everyday things that you can do to decrease the probability of getting heartburn.
- Eat small meals throughout the day. Eat several small meals or snacks instead of three large meals. This will prevent your stomach from becoming too full which can lead to heartburn.
- Avoid certain foods. Things such as caffeine, spicy foods, citrus, carbonated beverages, and fried/greasy foods can increase your probability of getting heartburn. If you find that a certain food usually causes you heartburn then avoid them.
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Learn What Causes Heartburn For Youthen Avoid It
Fat, caffeine, chocolate, citruspregnant women with heartburn have been advised to avoid all of the above at one time or another. But what causes reflux in one woman might not be a trigger for another.
Rather than tell his pregnant patients to avoid a specific food, Dr. Richter says he advises them to stay away from foods that specifically aggravate them. Everybody’s different, Dr. Richter says. Some pregnant women can chow down on spicy Mexican food or a plate of spaghetti and meatballs with no ill effects.
How To Treat Heartburn During Pregnancy
For many people, pregnancy can cause different problems and heartburn is one of them.
Uncomfortable and frustrating, heartburn can make you forget about the pleasure of being pregnant as your mind becomes occupied by the pain and burning sensation in your chest.
There are two main causes of heartburn during pregnancy the ongoing hormonal changes in the body and the increasing pressure on the stomach from the growing womb.
The hormonal changes in the body can cause the muscles in the esophagus to relax more frequently. This allows stomach acid to flow back up into the esophagus, especially when youre lying down to take a nap or after youve eaten a large meal.
With each passing day, your uterus expands to accommodate the growth of your baby. This means your stomach is under more pressure, which also results in food and acid being pushed back up into your esophagus.
Its common to have heartburn during the first and third trimesters, but it doesnt mean you have to just bear with it throughout your pregnancy.
While medicines are not recommended for pregnancy-related heartburn as they can have lasting effects on the unborn baby, there are many simple things that can help you deal with this problem and maintain a healthy pregnancy.
Here are the top 10 ways to treat heartburn during pregnancy.
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Heartburn Medicines When Your Are Pregnant
All the medications that you would usually take become questionable when youre pregnant. There are some that thin the blood and others that cause problems for the cell growth and structures of your growing little one.
Now you must think twice about what to take and what to avoid regarding heartburn medicine. It can be tricky, especially when it comes to the symptoms of pregnancy. You have to put up with pain, sickness, and heartburn medicine.
The good news is that many heartburn medicine and medications are safe during pregnancy. Here are 15 that you can definitely take, with some over the counter options and some herbal remedies to soothe and treat your acid reflux.
Suffering From Pregnancy Heartburn 5 Top Tips To Relieve Heartburn During Pregnancy
If you are having pregnancy heartburn, you are definitely not alone! In fact, pregnancy heartburn affects 8/10 women at some point during their 9 months and – as you probably know by now – can be pretty unpleasant. Its been found that around 1/4 of women experience heartburn during pregnancy in their first trimester, 1/3 of women in their second trimester and 3/4 of women in their third trimester. So, whilst some things get better as your pregnancy progresses, pregnancy heartburn, although harmless is unfortunately, likely to get worse.
Thankfully there are some solutions and pregnancy heartburn remedies that have been tried and tested. To help you find pregnancy heartburn relief and put your mind at ease, weve put together a brief insight into what pregnancy heartburn actually is and some of the best ways to manage it.
What is pregnancy heartburn?
All heartburn, including heartburn during pregnancy, is caused by acid reflux: Acid from your stomach rises up through your food pipe , irritating it. This happens when a small muscle, located where the food pipe meets the stomach, is weak or too relaxed. Its job is to let food into the stomach and to stop food and acids from coming back out, but if it is weak, the stomachs contents are able to flow upwards. It can leave you with pain or a burning feeling in your chest and/or throat. It can also cause a hoarse voice, sickness, bloating, an unpleasant taste in your mouth and bad breath not fun!
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Causes Of Heartburn While Pregnant
During pregnancy your body produces a large amount of the hormones progesterone and relaxin. These hormones are responsible for relaxing your muscles so that your growing baby has room in the uterus. In addition, this slows down the digestive process which can cause indigestion, gas, and heartburn.
The slow digestive process is beneficial during pregnancy because it allows the nutrients from your food to be absorbed more thoroughly. This helps your baby absorb the nutrients and benefit from them. An unfortunate side effect is that your gastrointestinal tract doesnt work as well.
At the top of your stomach there is a valve that opens and closes at the entrance to your stomach. The increase of these hormones causes this valve to not open and close properly. This allows your stomach acids and digestive fluids to escape the stomach. Unlike your stomach, your esophagus is composed of a thin and sensitive lining. This lining can be easily irritated by these stomach acids. The result is a burning sensation at the opening which is located near the heart, thus the term heartburn.
How To Get Rid Of Heartburn During Pregnancy Fast
You never know when or where heartburn may strike. Its a good idea to keep some emergency heartburn-relief remedies in your handbag in case youre caught off guard.
Keep a small stash of the following items on you at all times:
- Oatmeal
- A teabag of your favorite heartburn-relieving herbal tea
- Milk.
Calcium-containing antacids such as Tums or Rolaids .
During pregnancy, the stomach has prolonged gastric emptying times and the gastroesophageal sphincter has decreased tone. Together, these changes lead to reflux and possibly combine with decreased esophageal tone to cause ptyalism, or spitting, during pregnancy as well as reflux and heartburn.
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How Can I Prevent Heartburn During Pregnancy
They say prevention is the best medicine, so knowing common heartburn triggers can help you keep the acid at bay.
Of course, pregnancy itself is a major trigger for heartburn. As your growing uterus puts pressure on your stomach, this pushes stomach acid up your throat.
Those lovely hormones are no help either. They tend to relax the valve between your stomach and esophagus, which makes it easier for acid to make its way upward.
While theres nothing you can do to stop this entirely, there are a few things that can help prevent heartburn from flaring up during pregnancy:
When To Get Medical Help
See your midwife or GP if you need help managing your symptoms or if changes to your diet and lifestyle do not work. They may recommend medicine to ease your symptoms.
You should also see your midwife or GP if you have any of the following:
- difficulty eating or keeping food down
- weight loss
- stomach pains
Your midwife or GP may ask about your symptoms and examine you by pressing gently on different areas of your chest and stomach to see whether it’s painful.
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When Should I Call My Healthcare Provider About Heartburn During Pregnancy
If heartburn isnt going away, talk to your provider. They can prescribe medications that are safe to take while pregnant.
You should also call your provider if you:
- Have heartburn that wakes you up at night.
- Have trouble swallowing.
- Have black poop.
- Are losing weight.
Heartburn can have similar symptoms to a heart attack. If youve never had heartburn before and youre having chest pains, call your provider or head to the nearest ER.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Heartburn during pregnancy is a common pregnancy symptom, especially in the third trimester. You can prevent or get relief from heartburn during pregnancy by making a few changes to your diet, like eating more frequent but smaller meals and avoiding spicy or fried foods. Some yogurt or milk may also help relieve symptoms. Before you take antacids, be sure to check with your provider for the safest option to take during pregnancy.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 01/29/2021.
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