What are the reasons for headaches during pregnancy?

The physical constitution during pregnancy is different from that during normal times, so many women often experience multiple complications. Many expectant mothers begin to experience headaches in the first few months of pregnancy. Severe cases may also be accompanied by edema, too fast or too slow heartbeat, nausea, and general weakness. This may be caused by multiple reasons.

1. Causes of headache

There are basically two causes of headaches. The former situation is a headache that the expectant mother herself has, which may be hereditary (family history). The other may be caused by unstable vasoconstriction and pressure in the brain. Some of the reasons are not yet fully understood. This is called primary headache, which is chronic and prone to recurrence. Migraines and contraction headaches in our daily lives belong to this type.

2. Factors that cause headaches during pregnancy

For people who have chronic headaches before pregnancy, about 60% of them will see improvement in their headache symptoms after pregnancy; 30% of them will not have headaches again; and 10% of them will have worsening headache symptoms. At the same time, it should be noted that factors such as physiological changes during pregnancy also have a high probability of causing headaches for expectant mothers. The causes of headaches for expectant mothers are as follows:

1. Hormonal changes: During pregnancy, the body's secretion of estrogen and progesterone increases, which directly affects the level of serotonin in the brain, causing expectant mothers to be prone to headaches.

2. Tension and stress: Just like the tightening headache mentioned in the previous article, the head feels like it is under pressure. If the expectant mother is always in a state of tension and stress, there is a high probability of this happening throughout the pregnancy.

3. Poor sleep quality: The physiological changes that begin with pregnancy, as well as psychological stress and emotional factors, all have a certain probability of causing restless sleep, which can cause headaches for expectant mothers.

4. Withdrawal syndrome: For expectant mothers who have the habit of drinking coffee before pregnancy, if they suddenly quit this habit after pregnancy, there is a certain probability that they will suffer from headaches.