What to Do About That Annoying Pregnancy Heartburn

You just ate your favorite snack and yup, here she comes again. That rude heartburn calamity is just making her way into your life uninvited, again!

Oh, how sexy is that feeling mama? I feel your pain.

The lucky ladies who have never suffered from heartburn, even while pregnant, you can move on past this nugget of knowledge or continue reading to help out your BFF. According to health.com, the reason we suffer from heartburn is this:

“…progesterone, a hormone that relaxes muscles in pregnancy, also relaxes the stomach valve that keeps acid out of the esophagus. In addition, the growing uterus crowds the stomach, forcing acid into the esophagus.”

Not only is your body creating more of a hormone that relaxes your stomach muscles, but if you have more than one babe growing in your womb, a large babe, or a breech whose head is pressing on things, chances are your heartburn is worse.

Some women are more prone to heartburn than others, and if you are just extra lucky, you might not have to deal with this at all.

I did have some girlfriends who never had to deal with heartburn. On the flip side, they had awful morning sickness, which I never had. All pregnancies are different and the timing and capacity of all these body changes during pregnancy totally varies.

Hold the Lemon … and Spice

My mom used to tell me not to eat acidic or spicy food; including fried or fatty foods while or just shortly after a stomach ache. The same goes for trying to avoid heartburn. Don’t give your stomach something to ignite the fire and try keeping your intake and food choices mellow by avoiding citrus or spice based foods.

Just Say No to Seconds

When pregnancy hunger kicks in it can attack like a beast, but if your stomach hasn’t grown in size, there is no need to eat a ton of extra food like it has.

Also, chewing your food slowly and eating slower overall will allow you to feel the weight of what you are eating. If you eat smaller more rational amounts per sitting, you won’t have a beyond full belly after a meal, and extra cargo to digest causing flare up.

Water Please

Sipping on water all day and in between meals will not only keep you hydrated but it will help you avoid taking up too much of your stomach’s space by chugging sporadic full glasses.

It can also help to drink less during meals. Just keep your water bottle handy and sip, don’t gulp.

Coconut Water

Who would have thought that this yummy drink would act as a natural acid neutralizer?

According to Naturalmama., this is a healthy alternative to ease pregnancy heartburn. The taste might be an acquired taste for some but it is worth a shot!

TUMS Up!

I was pregnant within the last couple of years and kept TUMS at home, work and in the car. Heartburn for me kicked in at four months and she reared her ugly head relentlessly!

My OBGYN said TUMS were totally safe and OK and boy, did I pop them constantly. (Of course, according to what the label recommended.)

Serve it Up Earlier

Joel Richter, MD, director of the division of gastroenterology and nutrition and the esophageal diseases center at the University of South Florida, in Tampa says it’s better to try not to eat for about three hours prior to bedtime.

You may want to also avoid liquids. (Health.com) The less that’s in your stomach when it comes time to lay down, the less chances you have of Miss Heartburn creeping!

Straight Up

After eating, try to sit upward for as long as possible rather than lie down right away or complete chores or movements where you need to bend over or far forward. The only way your food and stomach acid will have to go is down mama! (Gravity won’t also work against us ladies!)

Fluffy Support

Now some of you will have tried the above listed remedies all day and you still feel heartburn, especially at bedtime. This is when pillows are your other best friend. Prop yourself up, get comfy at a slight incline. This remedy really is a little miracle worker if those TUMS have not kicked in.

Pepcid It Is

After suffering a long battle with heartburn that I wasn’t winning, and the TUMS no longer worked, I went back to my doctor and asked him to please tell me if there was anything else I could do to make it stop. He prescribed me Pepcid and it was gods send! I got heartburn from drinking water no longer!

Does Heartburn Mean You’ll Have a Hairy Baby?

There is an old wives tale that if you suffer from heartburn, you’ll have a hairy baby. Hear of it?

This tale was tested by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the US in 2006 where 64 pregnant women were followed to see if those who suffered from heartburn had babe’s born with lots of hair and guess what? They did!

78% of the women reported that they did have heartburn during pregnancy and 23 of 28 who had heavier heartburn birthed little ones with average and above average amounts of hair! On the opposite spectrum 10 of the 12 women who didn’t have heartburn (lucky!) birthed little ones who had little to no hair.

So yes, I suffered, but it was temporary and the remedies above did work but in my case, I eventually counted on Pepcid. And boy does my son have a thick head of hair!

It is one of the first things folks comment on when he walks in the door. So even though heartburn isn’t a comfy experience for however many months you must endure it, hopefully some of the above remedies will work out for you and this short-term issue might have a silver lining in the end! (A baby with a great head of hair!)