Our grandmothers attributed the occurrence of heartburn during pregnancy to the fact that the hair begins to grow in the fetus at this time. Today, there are other opinions on this subject.
Heartburn During Pregnancy: Causes
Heartburn is an unpleasant phenomenon, often in pregnant women makes itself felt at about 20 weeks of pregnancy. The cause may be a relaxation of the lower food sphincter. It is he who is a valve that does not allow the contents of the stomach to enter the esophagus. But in pregnant women, the tone of smooth muscles decreases, due to the action of the hormone progesterone, which extends to the valve. So it opens slightly, and all the acidic contents rise up, causing heartburn.
Heartburn during pregnancy: how dangerous is it for an unborn baby?
Fortunately, heartburn will not bring any harm to the fetus, even if she bothers the expectant mother quite often. But the constant burning sensation for the pregnant woman becomes a real test, and such discomfort worsens the psychological state of the woman, which can affect the baby. But frequent bouts of heartburn can lead to inflammation of the mucous membrane of the esophagus. How to prevent this, we will understand further.
What should be the nutrition for heartburn in pregnant women
Pregnant women should not get carried away with potions and pills, since there is little benefit from them, and harm to the unborn baby can be done even in the womb. When heartburn occurs, the main thing is proper nutrition. You should choose those products that can calm the mucous membrane and "extinguish" the fire in the stomach. Some products are able to maintain an alkaline environment in the gastrointestinal tract, while others can neutralize it no worse than expensive drugs. If you use such products, you can forget about heartburn.
Next, we consider more specifically which products affect how this problem is addressed.
Vegetables
Carrots, potatoes, beets on the stomach have an enveloping effect, maintain acid-base balance, reduce pain. With their constant use, heartburn will begin to manifest to a lesser extent, and possibly disappear altogether. You can eat vegetables both fresh and boiled, stewed. It is recommended to bake or boil vegetables and fruits for the reason that to digest them raw you will need more gastric juice. And the cause of heartburn can be a huge amount. But in no case should you fry, because then they will not only bring no benefit, but they can also provoke heartburn.
A glass of beet or carrot juice drunk before meals will have a good effect, this will significantly reduce the risk of heartburn after eating.
Such vegetables are not recommended for heartburn:
• bow;
• cabbage;
• garlic;
• sour apples.
Fruits
The main thing you should pay attention to when choosing fruits is that they should be sweet. Baked apples will help quench heartburn for a while. But after this, the gastric juice will begin to stand out more strongly, so after an hour you should eat. Pears, papaya, persimmon - those fruits that will not bring harm.
Bananas do not carry any danger. They have the ability to protect the walls of the stomach and esophagus from acid, thereby quenching pain. Also in these fruits are minerals that can neutralize hydrochloric acid, reduce its aggressiveness. Bananas in their action are equated with medicines for heartburn.
But citrus with heartburn can only strengthen it.
Milk and Dairy Products
There is an opinion that kefir should not be drunk for those suffering from heartburn. After all, in terms of taste, it is sour, this situation may be aggravated. But this opinion is erroneous, because kefir, like milk, contains a lot of calcium, and it is necessary for the future mother’s body and her baby, it also has the ability to bind stomach acid, envelop the walls of the esophagus. Plus, kefir normalizes the work of the stomach. For these reasons, doctors recommend pregnant women to use kefir for heartburn.
Milk also has a good effect on this disease. Those who have experienced the effects of milk and kefir, know that this helps. But it is necessary to pay attention to the tolerance by the body of this product, since milk is well digested on average up to twenty years. With age, the release of enzymes that break down this product decreases. There are pains after eating, bloating, heaviness, heartburn. This can happen after eating milk porridge.
Porridge
Pregnant women with heartburn are advised to eat oatmeal, buckwheat, and rice porridge in preventive measures. The exception is foods that are cooked for a long time, as well as instant products. These are pearl barley, oatmeal, corn grits and millet porridge.
Also, heartburn can appear from burnt porridge. It is believed that burnt foods are beneficial because they cleanse the body like activated charcoal. But in this case, only carcinogens will be obtained from burnt porridge, which will irritate the mucous membrane of the stomach and esophagus.
Also, recently there has been a tendency to cook cereals in an unusual way: fry cereals before cooking. But, as you know, such food irritates the gastric mucosa, so more hydrochloric acid is released. Fried affects the gastrointestinal tract negatively, can increase or trigger heartburn. Most often this happens from buckwheat porridge. The same reaction of the body will be on an overdried product.
Water
Pregnant women who have this disease should drink at least 1.5 liters of water per day: well, spring, filtered. You need to drink a little throughout the day, especially when heartburn begins and begins to manifest itself. Water is able to dilute stomach acid, flush it from the walls of the esophagus, thereby reducing the risk of its effect on the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract.
But keep in mind that you can’t drink sweet, sour, too hot drinks.
Nuts
Almond nut is a product that not only does not harm, but also neutralizes gastric juice. If heartburn occurs, they can "put out the fire" by carefully chewing this nut. The result will not be long in coming. Before this, the nut should be rinsed with boiling water, after which the skin will be removed easily. In the same way, walnut kernels can help.
Greenery
A positive effect on the stomach will have parsley and dill. And also lettuce leaves.
Safe remedies for heartburn
If heartburn is so strong that, just adhering to proper nutrition, you can’t achieve any changes for the better, you will have to turn to medications. But in any case, without the appointment of a Gastroenterologist, you should not buy them.
Your doctor will prescribe antacids, which are composed of magnesium and aluminum salts. Among them:
• Maalox;
• Rennie;
• Gaviscon;
• Almagel.
They form a protective film on the walls of the stomach, and also neutralize the acid in the gastric juice. But you need to be careful with the reception, since their side effect is the occurrence of constipation. And if you have to take some other drugs, you should take a break between them, since antacids absorb other drugs.
Other recommendations to help get rid of heartburn during pregnancy
In order to get rid of heartburn, as well as its prevention should:
• expectant mothers should eat small meals 5-6 times a day;
• the first 2 hours after eating is best done in a horizontal position;
• devote enough time to sleep, preferably on the left side;
• do not make inclines once again;
• Clothing should not be tight in the stomach.
Proper nutrition helps prevent heartburn during pregnancy. The exclusion of unwanted products will not only cure this unpleasant symptom, but will also have a beneficial effect on the body as a whole.
