Tips and Tricks to Manage Acid Reflux During Pregnancy

Let me start with a story. There was a wonderful young woman, who got pregnant and through the nine months of the pregnancy, she had no issues at all. Did not have any sleepless nights, no digestion issues, no swelling on feet, no nausea, no vomiting, no aches, no pains and then at the end of the beautiful nine months, the labour pain came as if gentle breeze was waving across and the baby was born. Just like that.

How easy it would have been if this were true?

Pregnancy is generally embedded with issues small and big. It starts from the first days of detection of pregnancy and lasts throughout the nine months and sometimes extends into the post delivery period. One of the commonest trouble maker is Acid reflux. It is a common term used to describe the discomfort one feels due to excess production of stomach acids or due to increase in the back pressure due to the growing baby. The commonest ways a pregnant woman complaints about the same are: feeling full, chest burning, burping/belching etc. The symptoms are generally worse immediately after eating something or while remaining longer time with empty stomach.

There are many lifestyle modifications you can practice to bring down the episodes and severity of acid reflux:

Change your eating habits:

1. One of the commonest advice given is to reduce the consumption of spicy and oily food.
2. Also eating short frequent meals help: it’s a myth that you need to eat more just because you are pregnant. You need to eat based on your daily requirements.
3. Reduce the consumption of drinks containing caffeine.
4. Preferably give a gap of 1-3 hours between the last meal and sleep.

Posture Correction

1. Sit upright while you eat.
2. Minimal head elevation while you sleep

Change habits

1. Drink about 3+ Liters of fluid daily
2. Walk around for atleast 15 minutes after each meal
3. Stop smoking
4. Avoid alcohol
5. DO NOT self medicate.

If these routine ways of home remedies do not offer you significant help or if you start experiencing any increasing symptoms like: severe vomiting, stomach pain or weight loss, please make sure you bring it to the attention of your doctor. With the advice of the doctor, you may be advice pregnancy safe medications which you can consume.

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