Is heartburn a common complaint during your pregnancy? Easy tips to deal with it

Many pregnant women experience heartburn during their pregnancy. Read on to know how you can deal with it easily and safely.

Heartburn is a common problem faced by many pregnant women. Symptoms may get progressively worse as the pregnancy advances. This may be due to the fact that the level of the hormone progesterone increases during pregnancy. At the same time, intra-abdominal pressures also increase because of the uterus enlarging to accommodate delivery. This may lower esophageal sphincter pressure in pregnant women. This leads to heartburn symptoms, which may be quite severe at times. The situation is made worse by the fact that many heartburn medications are not good for pregnant women.

But you can deal with this problem with a few lifestyle and dietary modifications.

Eat dinner early

Late night dinners increase your risk of heartburn. So, try and have your dinner by 7.30 pm. Eat at least 3 hours before you go to bed. Also avoid having spicy and acidic foods for dinner and instead have light food.

Wear comfortable clothes to bed

Loose fitting, cotton clothes are best for sleeping in if you are pregnant. Also make sure that there are no elastic bands on your waist as this will put pressure on your stomach and lower esophageal sphincter.

Eat less but at regular intervals

Instead of three large meals try to fit in several small meals throughout the day. This will help digestion and you will also avoid the problem of heartburn.

Don't sleep immediately after eating

You must wait for the food to digest before you go to sleep. This means that you must also avoid taking a nap immediately after eating. Wait for at least 3 hours. This will help your stomach and give it enough time to digest the food.

Sleep on two pillows

Keeping your head elevated will reduce acid reflux. This is because when your head is raised, the amount of gastric contents that make its way to the lower esophagus comes down drastically. This will help you avoid heartburn.

Stay away from tobacco and alcohol

Well, if you are pregnant, you are anyway not supposed to consume alcohol or any tobacco product. But if you do, stop immediately. It will not only harm your baby but also reduce reflux symptoms.