Pregnant woman with heartburn in throat

Once a woman becomes pregnant, her body will change, and sometimes her taste will be different. Therefore, in order to ensure the safe and healthy birth of the fetus, she must start to adjust her diet and daily behavior. Pregnant women with poor gastrointestinal digestion will feel stomach acid burning in the throat if they don't eat well. Morning sickness itself is very uncomfortable, and the appearance of this symptom is like adding fuel to the fire. At this time, pregnant women should adjust their diet, eat small meals frequently, and if the condition is serious, they should seek medical attention and let the doctor give a solution that will not harm the fetus.

What happens when pregnant women have heartburn in their throats?

Pregnant women experience stomach acid and heartburn, which is directly related to the changes in their physiological conditions after pregnancy. When their hormone secretion changes, it will cause slow peristalsis and emptying of the gastrointestinal tract.

In addition, after pregnancy, the uterus moves upward, compressing the stomach and duodenum, causing their emptying ability to decrease. Both of these conditions can manifest as reflux esophagitis, with symptoms such as stomach acid, heartburn, and even acid regurgitation.

When this happens, you need to adjust your diet first, temporarily focusing on a light diet and eating small and frequent meals.

What to do if pregnant women have heartburn?

1. Eat a healthy diet

Do not eat too much to avoid increasing the pressure in the stomach and lifting the diaphragm. Eat small meals frequently, slow down your eating pace, and chew your food thoroughly.

Especially for dinner, you should avoid eating too much or too late. It is best to eat within 2 to 3 hours before going to bed so that you have enough time to digest the food.

Avoid foods and drinks that cause gastrointestinal discomfort, which usually include: carbonated drinks, alcohol (you should not drink alcohol during pregnancy anyway), caffeine, chocolate, acidic foods (including citrus fruits and juices, tomatoes, mustard and vinegar, etc.), cooked meats, mint foods, and spicy, strong, fried or high-fat foods.

Chew a piece of gum after eating. Chewing gum stimulates saliva secretion, which helps neutralize stomach acid.

2. Sleeping posture

When sleeping at night, use a few more pillows or wedge-shaped cushions to raise your upper body. Raise the foot of the bed by 15 to 20 centimeters above your head and raise your upper body by 10 to 15 degrees, which can effectively reduce esophageal reflux. However, it is not advisable to raise the entire upper body by raising the pillow, because raising the pillow cannot lift the entire upper body. Instead, it may cause a bend between the esophagus and the stomach, affecting the flow of food into the stomach, aggravating esophageal reflux, and exacerbating heartburn.

3. Loose clothing

To reduce esophageal reflux, pregnant women should wear loose clothes and avoid tight clothes that squeeze the waist and abdomen.

Bowel movements should be smooth and respiratory tract infections should be actively prevented and treated to avoid increasing intra-abdominal pressure.

4. Don’t smoke

Never smoke. Not only does smoking lead to many serious health problems, but it also increases stomach acid secretion. To achieve the desired effect, women who smoke should quit smoking before becoming pregnant. But if you're still smoking after becoming pregnant and find it difficult to quit, talk to your doctor to see if she can help you find a suitable way to quit smoking.

5. Taking medication

Over-the-counter antacids containing magnesium or calcium may also help relieve stomach discomfort, but be sure to talk to your doctor before taking them, as some brands of antacids contain aluminum, aspirin, or large amounts of sodium. Under the guidance of a doctor, you can take alkaline drugs, such as aluminum hydroxide gel, Ledewei, or drugs that protect the gastric mucosa, such as sucralfate, Dile Granules, etc., which can help relieve heartburn.

What to pay attention to during pregnancy:

After pregnancy, you should quit smoking, drinking, and any caffeinated beverages, fruit juices, etc. No matter how much you liked them before, we can no longer drink them.

Even smoked food, spicy food, and all irritating foods should not be eaten by pregnant women, including leftovers, as they contain nitrites, which can easily turn into carcinogens. Carcinogens are not only harmful to the mother, but can also be passed on to the baby.

A diet that is beneficial to pregnant women should focus on balanced nutrition during pregnancy, such as dairy products, which contain calcium. Red meat (beef and mutton) contains iron. Fish contains zinc. There are also classic elements in kelp and seaweed.

Egg yolks or seasonal vegetables contain folic acid, which are foods that pregnant women must supplement. If folic acid is insufficient, we should also supplement it with oral folic acid.

But it should be noted that pregnant women should eat foods containing dairy products appropriately. But don't eat too much. Many foods that can easily cause miscarriage in pregnant women should not be eaten, such as hawthorn, betel nut, crab, persimmon, pickles and other very cold foods that can cause miscarriage in pregnant women.

What should older pregnant women pay attention to?

First of all, pay attention to your diet. Older mothers need more nutrition. In order to ensure the smooth birth of the fetus, we need to increase the normal food intake at each meal by about 20%. If a pregnant woman's body really can't take it, she can try eating small and frequent meals.

First, older mothers should pay more attention to the growth of the fetus and try not to let the fetus become giant when giving birth.

Second, control the amount of salt you consume, food should not be too salty, and eat more vegetables and fruits.

Fourth, older mothers should have more pre-pregnancy checkups than normal pregnant women.

Fifth, in terms of sleep, we try not to stay up late. You should have a good schedule and keep your biological clock in check.

Sixth, the diet must be balanced. Nutrients like calcium, vitamins, etc. must be taken in, but the amount should not be too much, just an appropriate amount is good.

Seventh, the environment. Many provinces and cities are experiencing smog. Try to reduce going out at this time and use an air purifier at home.