What to do if a pregnant woman has a severe headache

Headache is a common disease in our lives. It has a great impact on the health of the body. However, once it occurs in pregnant women, it will make people very nervous and afraid that it will affect the health of the fetus. Moreover, pregnant women cannot take medicine blindly during the entire pregnancy. In fact, the causes and relief methods of headaches in pregnant women are different at different stages of pregnancy. Let’s learn about what to do if pregnant women have severe headaches.

What to do if a pregnant woman has a severe headache

Early pregnancy - causes and solutions

Headache symptoms in early pregnancy are generally caused by hormone issues. In the early stages of pregnancy, you love to sleep and are particularly lazy, and headaches are also symptoms of pregnancy.

[Reason 1: Low blood sugar caused by eating less]

Many pregnant women experience intense pregnancy reactions in the early stages of pregnancy and often cannot eat, which causes low blood sugar, resulting in symptoms such as dizziness, palpitations, fatigue, hand tremors, and cold sweats. In addition, due to the increase of progesterone in the pregnant mother's blood in the early stages of pregnancy, it leads to pregnancy reactive vomiting. In addition, the mother generally eats less at this time, and the body consumes a lot of energy, so it can also aggravate symptoms of hypoglycemia such as dizziness.

Countermeasures: Pay attention to the nutrition of three meals, especially breakfast. You can eat more milk, eggs, meat porridge and other foods. Carry some convenience foods such as biscuits, candies, sugar water and fruits with you, so that you can eat them immediately if the above-mentioned hypoglycemia symptoms appear, so that the hypoglycemia symptoms such as dizziness can be relieved in time. If this phenomenon occurs frequently, you may suffer from anemia, low or high blood pressure, malnutrition or heart disease, and you should seek medical attention promptly.

[Reason 2: Early pregnancy reaction]

In the early stages of pregnancy, pregnancy will cause varying degrees of physiological changes throughout the mother's body, resulting in a variety of symptoms, dizziness being one of them, which usually have no adverse consequences.

Countermeasures: If the dizziness is caused by this reason, it will gradually disappear as the pregnancy progresses. You need to pay attention to balanced nutrition and a regular life.

Second trimester - causes and solutions

【Reason 1: Anemia】

Anemia in pregnant women is also a common cause of dizziness in pregnant women. During the second trimester, in order to adapt to the growth needs of the fetus, the mother's blood volume increases and the blood becomes relatively diluted.

Countermeasures: Check blood routine regularly. Pregnant women should consume iron-rich foods such as animal blood, pork liver, lean meat, etc. Once anemia occurs, iron supplementation should be performed urgently. If the anemia is severe, oral anti-anemia drugs are needed to correct it.

Reason 2: Low blood pressure

In the early and middle stages of pregnancy, blood pressure drops to a certain extent due to the formation of the placenta. As blood pressure drops, blood flow to the brain will decrease, resulting in insufficient blood supply to the brain, causing cerebral ischemia and hypoxia, thereby causing dizziness.

Countermeasures: Pregnant mothers should monitor their blood pressure at any time and pay attention to self-protection during the second trimester. Once dizziness occurs, you should sit down immediately or lie down flat to prevent the dizziness from getting worse; avoid standing for long periods of time to prevent attacks.

Late pregnancy - causes and solutions

【Reason 1: Supine syndrome】

In the late stages of pregnancy, due to the enlargement of the uterus, if the pregnant mother lies on her back or sits down for too long, the heavy uterus will press on the inferior vena cava behind her, preventing blood from returning to the heart from the lower body. The amount of blood returning to the heart will drop sharply, and the cardiac output will decrease, leading to a decrease in blood supply to the heart and brain, causing dizziness, chest tightness and other discomforts.

Countermeasures: Try to sit flat. If you feel tired after sitting for a long time, you can change to side-lying position, or take a walk indoors or outdoors. In short, try to avoid supine and semi-recumbent positions. Once supine syndrome occurs, you should lie on your side immediately, or slowly sit up after lying on your side, to relieve the pressure of the uterus on the heart and inferior vena cava and restore blood supply to the brain.

[Reason 2: Certain signs of illness]

If dizziness and blurred vision occur in the late pregnancy, especially when accompanied by edema, high blood pressure and other symptoms, pregnant mothers must not take it lightly, as it is often a precursor to certain serious complications such as eclampsia.

Countermeasures: See a doctor as soon as possible, undergo a detailed physical examination, and identify the specific cause so that active treatment can be provided.

The above is an introduction on what to do if a pregnant woman has a severe headache. When such symptoms occur, you must understand the cause and make timely adjustments. If you cannot confirm the cause, you must go to the hospital for examination in time. In addition, women must rest more during pregnancy, pay attention to a balanced diet, and do regular prenatal examinations.