Acid Reflux During Pregnancy

Acid reflux during pregnancy is not totally uncommon. Even women who have never experienced this problem otherwise may suffer from it while they are pregnant. There is a vast variety of reasons for this, but normally it occurs due to the hormonal excesses and imbalances in your body during pregnancy. Additionally, as the baby grows it pushes against your stomach, sometimes forcing the contents up toward your throat. This becomes extremely common after the second trimester is over, since the baby then grows at a very rapid pace. Normal symptoms of acid reflux are heartburn, burning sensation in the throat and sometimes acidic, sour bile that you can actually taste. While you may not be able to cure heartburn completely during pregnancy, you can take several steps to control it. Try and avoid foods which are known to cause heartburn. Anything with even mild caffeine should be avoided. Try and avoid tomato based gravies or dishes, as sour foods generally lead to acidity. You should also avoid most citrus fruits, as they are all high in citric acid and hence could also lead to development of excess acid in the body. Try and minimize your intake of oranges, tangerines, lemons and grapefruits. Also avoid watermelons as they may aggravate the symptoms of acid reflux. You should also make it a point to avoid spices, as these can also contribute to acid reflux. Try and keep off all alcoholic beverages. Avoid fruits after a meal, instead if you are having a fruit with your meal, have it before you eat. Because when you eat fruit after a meal, it sits over the cooked meal in your stomach and your meal takes a longer time to digest than the fruit. As a result of which the fruit ferments and develops some alcoholic properties while waiting its turn to get digested.

Try and eat several small meals during the day instead of eating fewer big meals. When you are suffering from acid reflux it is recommended to allow your stomach to digest small quantities rather than making it work on big quantities at a time. Try and chew your food down to a liquid form before swallowing. It helps to count the number of ‘chews’ in a bite. Try to build up the average to 20-25! Drink your water very slowly, instead of gulping it down quickly.