Heartburn during Pregnancy

Heartburn affects a lot of woman during pregnancy specially in the third trimester. It affects 20% of women in the first trimester, 36% in the second and 70% in the third. This is because during pregnancy your body produces the hormone, progesterone, which slows down digestion and causes the muscular valve between the oesophagus and the stomach to relax, increasing the risk of gastro-oesophageal reflux. As a result stomach acid is more likely to leak into the oesophagus and cause a burning pain in your chest and throat.

As your baby grows, the pressure on your stomach increases and this can force stomach acid into the oesophagus, again causing gastro-oesophageal reflux.

How to prevent and treat heartburn during pregnancy?

Here are some helpful hints to avoid heartburn:

• Wait an hour after eating to lie down
• Avoid spicy, greasy and fatty foods
• Eat five to six smaller meals throughout the day rather than three large meals

Natural Homeremedy for Heartburn in pregnancy

• Eat yogurt or drink a glass of milk
• Try a tablespoon of honey in a glass of warm milk
• Of course the most important thing to remember is as with all pregnancy side effects, this too will pass.

Heartburn usually disappears following childbirth.