4 Home Remedies for Heartburn During Pregnancy
Heartburn during pregnancy is very common, as are other gastrointestinal conditions. This is because the fetus can progressively compress some digestive organs and alter their proper performance.
After delivery, everything will return to normal, but throughout your pregnancy, you may experience uncomfortable sensations that can be improved with certain home remedies.
In this regard, it’s important to note that most digestive complaints can be improved by making adjustments to your eating habits. Some changes in your diet and modifications in routines can positively affect your quality of life.
How to relieve heartburn during pregnancy
In the following article, we’re going to share with you the best home remedies to relieve pregnancy heartburn, which you can put into practice today.
If you still don’t experience improvement, the right thing to do is go to your doctor before self-medicating. Remember that what you eat can affect your baby’s development.
1. Optimize your diet
It’s important to modify your diet in order to combat heartburn during pregnancy. You should know that some foods, such as chocolate, soda, coffee, and spicy products can increase this unpleasant sensation.
Also, eating less simple sugars can help you get relief, as evidenced by research published in the Journal of Thoracic Disease.
2. Sleep with your upper body slighted elevated
Heartburn becomes more pronounced when you go to bed right after dinner. To avoid this symptom, experts recommend that you allow at least 2 hours to pass between your last intake of food and going to bed.
Likewise, it’s good to seek a certain inclination with your pillows, so that your head is a little higher than the rest of your body.
The same recommendations apply to daytime naps.
3. Incorporate milk into your pattern
Whole dairy is a base, meaning it neutralizes stomach acid and reduces the burning sensation.
This strategy is like a bandaid–it helps you feel better for a time, but it’s not the solution to the problem. Still, it may be a better option than resorting to antacid drugs. There’s evidence to suggest that recurrent use of this type of medication can be harmful in the long term.
4. Reduce your fat intake
Fats are nutrients that take longer to digest than other foods and also remain in the stomach for longer periods of time. This increases the risk of suffering from heartburn, so it’s advisable to limit your intake when this symptom is recurrent.
In addition, it’s advisable to avoid types of cooking with fats (such as fried foods) and the intake of battered foods.
When to go to the doctor?
If you’ve already modified your dietary guidelines and have restricted the consumption of soft drinks, ultra-processed foods, and simple sugars but still don’t notice any changes, it’s time to visit a specialist.
The same is true if this symptom harms your well-being or conditions your quality of life, because in those cases, it may be necessary to resort to pharmacological treatments.
Now, if you haven’t made any of these changes yet, give them a try. Don’t forget that good eating habits are key to your health and that of your baby.
As for weight gain, although it’s normal for it to occur, you should try to maintain proper body composition in order to reduce the incidence of this problem. To do this, maintain regular physical activity and create an eating plan to facilitate subsequent digestive processes.
Opt for natural remedies to avoid heartburn during pregnancy
As you’ve seen, there are natural remedies to combat the discomfort caused by heartburn during pregnancy.
If you’re unable to find relief, it’s best to consult your obstetrician to evaluate the need to incorporate any medication.
Either way, always keep in mind that establishing healthy lifestyle habits is positive in all stages of life. Not only should you eat well, but also exercise frequently and get a good night’s sleep.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Newberry, C., & Lynch, K. (2019). The role of diet in the development and management of gastroesophageal reflux disease: why we feel the burn. Journal of thoracic disease, 11(Suppl 12), S1594–S1601. https://doi.org/10.21037/jtd.2019.06.42
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