Dietary Changes for Pregnancy Heartburn

Posted on September 12, 2008 in Pregnancy Diet

Heartburn is not only experienced by highly stressed people or spicy food lovers but also by pregnant women. Many a times it is observed that pregnant women complain about heartburn. In fact as the pregnancy progresses the problem of heartburn becomes worse. Pregnancy heartburn can be controlled with few dietary changes.

Now the question arises is: why pregnant woman experiences various symptoms of heartburn? According to statistic report heartburn is a common ailment experienced by pregnant women and generally during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The main reason is that by 3rd trimester the baby has grown tremendously hence exerting pressure on the stomach. This pressure crowds the digestive tract hence allowing the acid to revert to oesophagus.

You can easily prevent pregnancy heartburn by making few dietary changes. Some of the important dietary changes for preventing pregnancy heartburn are listed below:

• First and foremost eat mindfully and chew your food thoroughly. Proper chewing of food makes the digestion work easier for your stomach as well as you will enjoy your food.
• Make sure that you follow a time-table so that your stomach gets enough time to digest your meal. Make sure that you eat your meal 2 hours before going to bed.
• It is better to divide your meal into smaller portions. Instead of 3 large meals in a day it is better to take 6 small portions in a day. Large meal tends to fill your stomach, which adds to the pressure hence aggravating symptoms of heartburn.
• Try to keep your solid and liquid intake separate. If food is mixed with too much of liquid then your stomach tends to distend hence increasing the heartburn symptoms.
• Make sure that you sit while eating. In case you are taking your bed-time snack then use pillow for back support.
• Try to maintain the recommended weight gain as excess weight adds additional pressure on oesophageal sphincter.
• Be mindful while eating. Try to eliminate food items from your diet which are causing heartburn.
• Try to avoid greasy, fried and spicy foods as they might aggravate your symptoms of heartburn.
• It is advisable to avoid foods like soda, chocolate, seasoned spicy food, tomato sauce and citrus foods.
• In case of increased discomfort due to heartburn it is better to stick to home remedies like handful of almonds, 1 tbsp of honey with milk, etc. Try to avoid over the counter medicines.
• Make sure that you eat lot of fresh fruits and vegetables.

With proper and timely diet and care you can easily prevent pregnancy heartburn. In case of increased discomfort due to heartburn then it is advisable to consult your gynaecologist immediately.

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