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Relieve Heartburn During Pregnancy
Digestive System During Pregnancy?
If some one, who is 4 months pregnant, has been having heartburn after each meal, constipation, and difficult bowel movements. What remedies might you suggest to them to relieve their problems?
You have just described some of the lousy side effects of pregnancy. As the baby starts to grow and the uterus expands, it presses upwards into the stomach. This causes stomach acid to splash upwards into the esophagus causing heartburn.
First, NO large meals. Eat 4-5 smaller meals every day - no more than a bread and butter plate sized serving at a time.
Next: don't drink with your meals. drink small amounts 30 minutes before you eat, and wait for 30 minutes after before you drink anything more than sips, because this extra fluid adds to the splash.
No greasy foods. Period. They force the stomach to make more acid, plus the gall bladder has to pour out more bile to dissolve the fats (bile is like Dawn dishwashing detergent in your stomach...it breaks up the grease and gets it out of your way)
At night, sleep up on a few pillows, or, put some bricks or boards under the legs of the head of the bed. This causes the head of your bed to slant downwards and it keeps the acid in your lower stomach so you don't have heartburn during the middle of the night (which can wake you off with awful pain at times)
Eat plenty of fiber - fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains. I like Aldi's 12 grain bread - it's soft and fresh and tasty. Actually, once you start eating whole grain breads you'll wonder why you ever eat plain old white bread because it tastes like cotton & dissolves when it gets wet).
Apples are an excellent source of fiber & pectin, broccoli, salary, oranges... these are all sources of fiber. Oatmeal, raisin bran, even Cheerios are all good sources of fiber which will help with the constipation and keep your bowels moving.
if you happen to have a bout of heartburn, use plain Tums (or generic calcium carbonate pills/tablets that you can pick up at any pharmacy in lots of flavors. These are perfectly safe for you while you're pregnant, and actually are helpful to you as they add necessary calcium into your diet.
Make sure you're getting enough exercise... walking, swimming, any exercise of all is wonderful for you. I particularly like Tai Chi or Chi gong as it gives you flexibility as well as keeping your bowels moving. The flexibility comes in very handy later in your pregnancy when you're going to need good balance, plus it helps when you're going to need to be able to move with a lot of extra weight. They are both very good for helping your breathing...and in labor, breathing is extremely important.
If your constipation is really bad, talk to your doctor about taking a dose of milk of magnesia, either in tablet or in liquid form. In smaller doses, milk of magnesia is also a good antacid. You must talk with your doctor, though, because they may or may not have different choices for you when it comes to medication. Another product that doctors are using for pregnant women is called Miralax... but I strongly recommend you ask your doctor before using it as it is a new product & some doctors don't like to prescribe new products for their patients...also, if you have your doctor prescribe Miralax it will cost you only your co-pay versus having to buy it in the store where it's ghastly expensive!
Oh, and don't worry about straining to have a bowel movement when you're pregnant... it will not normally cause you to lose the baby unless you suffer from something called "incompetent cervix". [your doctor will be watching for this, but it's not that common] It may however, cause you to have hemorrhoids, especially later in pregnancy... which is why it's best to learn how to get rid of the constipation now while still early in your pregnancy.
GOOD LUCK! AND MAY YOUHAVE AN EASY LABOR AND A HAPPY, HEALTHY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
