Pregnant woman has stomach cramps

After pregnancy, due to hormonal changes, the sphincter relaxes and the gradually enlarging uterus will press on the stomach. At this time, there will be excessive stomach acid, which can easily surge upward and cause a burning sensation in the chest. It should be said that this is a very bad feeling, which usually manifests as cramps. Severe cases may even affect women's normal pregnancy. So what issues should pregnant women pay attention to when they experience stomach cramps?

1. The sphincter is located at the junction of the esophagus and the stomach. Its function is to allow the food we eat to enter the stomach smoothly and not come back up. So normally we don’t have food coming back up after eating. However, after pregnancy, due to hormonal changes, the sphincter relaxes, and the food you eat can easily come up. Therefore, the acidic contents in the stomach will reflux from the stomach into the esophagus, throat and mouth, irritating the mucous membrane and causing stomach pain.

2. In the late stages of pregnancy, the gradually enlarging uterus will exert a certain amount of pressure on various organs, so the stomach may be affected. As the gestational age increases, there may also be mild shortness of breath, also due to uterine compression.

3. During pregnancy, HCG in the blood rises rapidly, which has the effect of protecting the fetus, but at the same time, the side effect is irritation to the stomach. This is also the reason why many pregnant women vomit.

4. The pregnant woman had stomach problems before she became pregnant, and improper diet during pregnancy caused stomach pain. If a pregnant mother has stomach problems, or cannot distinguish between gastritis and stomach burning pain caused by pregnancy, it is recommended to go to the hospital to prevent the gastritis from getting worse. In addition, if vomiting is severe and some symptoms of acidosis appear, you should go to the hospital for treatment in time.

Symptoms of stomach pain in pregnant women

Due to hormonal changes and pressure from the uterus, pregnant women's stomach digestion function will be reduced, resulting in symptoms such as excessive stomach acid, belching, and nausea. The specific symptoms of stomach pain in pregnant women are:

1. Location of pain

The stomach is located in the upper abdomen, in the depression below the sternum and above the navel (close to the pit of the heart). If the abdomen is divided into four areas, pain in the upper middle part of the left side is most likely stomach pain. However, it may also be caused by diseases of the esophagus, duodenum, gallbladder, etc., so the duration of pain, accompanying symptoms, etc. need to be used as criteria for judgment.

2. Pain duration

Stomach pain occurs after or before meals, after eating certain foods, or when you are too hungry or too full. Since stomach discomfort is mostly closely related to eating, it is more accurate to use the time, habits, content, and type of eating as the criteria for identification.

Stomach pain in pregnant women usually occurs in the early and late stages of pregnancy. In the early stages of pregnancy, due to hormonal changes, the sphincter relaxes and food can easily come up, causing pregnant women to experience stomach acid and vomiting. During late pregnancy, the growing uterus puts pressure on the stomach, causing stomach acid to bubble up and cause a burning sensation in the chest.

3. Observe symptoms

Stomach discomfort is accompanied by many symptoms. Stomach discomfort in pregnant women is often manifested as hiccups, bloating, nausea, vomiting, chest tightness, etc. If accompanied by symptoms such as chest tightness, heartburn, vomiting acid, and hiccups, it may be an esophageal disease; if accompanied by symptoms such as pain on an empty stomach, bloating and hunger pain, sour hiccups, and even vomiting blood, it may be a gastric ulcer. Therefore, pregnant women must carefully distinguish.

What to do if pregnant women have stomach pain

Pregnant women don’t need to be too nervous about stomach pain. Just pay attention to your diet in daily life.

1. Reduce your food intake appropriately

Because of pregnancy hormones and uterine compression, gastrointestinal function will decline, and many pregnant women take "big supplements" during pregnancy. Excessive food intake every day causes the stomach to overload and cause stomach pain. Therefore, the diet of pregnant women should be appropriately reduced, especially foods with high sugar content.

2. You can give pregnant women some cornmeal porridge

If a pregnant woman has stomachache, you can give her more cornmeal porridge. If her digestion is still good, you can add some millet porridge or yam porridge (rice and yam in half, cut the yam into smaller pieces, and the cooking time must be longer, at least 15 minutes longer than the usual boiling time). Try not to eat pure rice porridge. Do not add any additional ingredients to the porridge at will, but you can add some dates appropriately. The diet should be light, and after the stomach pain symptoms are alleviated, high-calorie and high-nutrition foods can be gradually added.

3. You can use some antacids. If you often have stomach pain at night, ask your doctor to prescribe some antacids for you to take before going to bed.

4. Semi-sitting position

If a pregnant woman has severe stomach pain and the pain is unbearable, taking a semi-sitting position can relieve the pain. Generally, this symptom will gradually disappear after 3 months of pregnancy.

5. White Peony Root and Roasted Licorice Decoction

If the stomach pain symptoms are relatively severe, you can use 20 grams of white peony root and 10 grams of roasted licorice to make a decoction and take it, one dose per day, decocting each dose three times and taking it in three times. Heat it appropriately before each dose.

6. When the condition is serious, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible to diagnose the cause and then receive targeted treatment.