How to Avoid Pregnancy Heartburn
Maybe it’s because your baby has a head full of hair or maybe it’s simply because you’re lucky enough to be one of the 80% of women who get heartburn during their pregnancy. Either way, you hate it and you want to avoid it. While it’s hard to completely avoid acid reflux during pregnancy, it is fairly easy to cut back on the occurrence of it. Here’s how:
1. Avoid acidic foods; it’s these foods after all which create acid in the stomach which then push their way up through the esophagus. These include citrus fruits, citrus juices, mustard, tomatoes, and vinegar.
2. Avoid foods that make your tummy hurt in general. During your pregnancy, try and cut out spicy food and fried and fatty foods.
3. Skip the bubblies: soda, champagne, beer.
4. Cut back on caffeine.
5. Eat small meals throughout the day, rather than the traditional three biggies.
6. Drink a lot of water, but not at mealtime—this will fill you up beyond your small meal allowance and a distended stomach can cause acid reflux.
7. Chew gum after a meal. Gum chewing stimulates salivation which neutralizes acid. But you may want to avoid the minty flavors as these exacerbate heartburn for many women.
8. Don’t lay down right after a meal. Try and digest your food while upright. This means no midnight snacks!
9.Quit smoking now!
10. Talk to you doctor or the customer service reps at an online pharmacy about acid reflux drugs (like Prevacid) that are safe during pregnancy.
11. Wear loose clothes, especially around your waist.
12. Gain the right amount of weight during your pregnancy, about 25-30 pounds.