Keeping Pregnant Women Away From Acid Reflux Dilemma

Keeping Pregnant Women Away From Acid Reflux Dilemma

Many women tend to experience heartburn symptoms when they are still carrying their babies, and this happens for several reasons.

An increase in hormones during pregnancy, is one of the most common factors. This increases the ability of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) to be closed, because it softens the ligaments function. When the LES rests at unsuitable periods, tendency is, this will let the gastric acid and food to reflux back to the esophagus and throat.

One more reason of experiencing heartburn during pregnancy is because the changes in the body and the development of the baby creates more pressure in a woman’s stomach. This will cause the stomach to force it’s contents up into the LES and the esophagus.

Fortunately, there are several ways pregnant women can help to elevate some of the painful discomforts from acid reflux. The following is some good advice, although this may not remove the heartburn totally.

1. Refrain from foods already known to be causes of heartburn. For example: spicy foods, citrus fruits or juices, mustard, tomatoes or tomatoes base products, fatty food, deep fried food or anything with a lot of seasoning in them. You may also want to consult your physician on what food and beverage items you should or should not be ingesting.

2. Get rid of drinks that have caffeine, like tea, coffee, and soda. Too much of these will cause the LES to relax and let the acid to return into the esophagus.

3. Stay away from alcohol beverages. This, like caffeine tends to relax the LES thus, creating the same effect of triggering heartburn.

4. Avoid eating large meals. You will find that by eating smaller meals more often through out the day will be a big help.

5. Don’t eat your meal too fast. Make sure to chew your food well and take your time when eating, as this will also help cut back on the amount of heartburn you experience.

6. Get plenty of rest a after you eat each meal and do not get involved in any activity that will interfere with your body digestive system.

7. Drink plenty of water through out the day and in fact, women that are pregnant need to not only drink at least eight to ten glasses a day, they should drink them throughout the day. Through this, the stomach will expand, and then the LES will be given more pressure, obliging it to open inappropriately. Hence, it is really recommended to drink more water and other fluids in between meals.

8. How you sleep is important too, you should arrange your pillows so you sleep around 6 - 10 inches high. You should try to elevate both your head and shoulder areas when sleeping. Through this, the gravity will work to keep the acids in your stomach in their place; in the stomach, not in the esophagus. Try to consult physicians to gain additional knowledge on how to relieve night time heartburn.

9. Don’t wear tight fitting clothes. If you wear clothes that are too tight around the stomach area, than that can trigger heartburn as well.

10. Be careful how you bend down to pick up things, always use your knees. You do not want to put too much pressure on your stomach.

11. Don’t slouch; rather sit erect in a relaxing chair.

12. Keep an eye on your weight too, because too much fat around your stomach will put undue stress on it. When that happens, it will force the contents within the stomach to go up toward the esophagus much easier. You should always follow your doctors advice on the recommended eating guidelines.

13. Avoid smoking. Doctors stated that smoking could cause several effects to a pregnant woman, and one is that it can add to the possibility of experiencing heartburn. By following all these tips, you will have a much healthier and happier pregnancy.