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Heartburn is very common in pregnant women during their second and third trimester because of the growing uterus. It puts pressure on the stomach and the intestines. This pressure causes the pushing back of food contents to the food pipe, causing heartburn and indigestion. There can be several other reasons for the heartburn like including spicy or fatty food in your diet and not doing required physical exercises to have proper digestion and get rid of heartburn.

Heartburn Relief During Pregnancy:

Heartburn during pregnancy can be a huge discomfort for the pregnant woman and may lead to other problems. Thus, various measures should be adopted to avoid heartburn during pregnancy.

• Avoid eating big meals and instead of it have small meals at regular intervals for better digestion. Chew properly while eating so that the food gets digested properly.
• After your meals have chewing gum, the chewing gum stimulates the salivary glands wherein it produces saliva. This saliva helps neutralize the acid in the food pipe.
• Avoid food and drinks that cause gastrointestinal distress. Such beverages include alcohol, carbonated drinks, caffeine, chocolate or other fruits that are rich in citric acid and others like fatty foods.
• It is recommended to eat dinner 2-3 hours before you sleep. This is because the food gets digested well and you can have a healthy sleep.
• Avoid drinking large quantity water or fluids during meals instead have lots of fluid and water between the gaps of meals.
• Sleep with several pillows or a wedge on the upper portion of the body. Elevating the upper part of your body helps to keep the acid produced at the right place and also helps digest the food.
• Always try to sleep on the left side of your body so that the acid reflux does not come to the esophagus.
• Avoid wearing any tight-fitting clothes around your waist and belly portion. Always wear loose-fitting clothes during pregnancy.
• Smoking increases the acidity inside the stomach and acidity, in turn, causes the heartburn. Hence avoid smoking.
• Antacids help in relieving heartburn. Consult your doctor before taking any antacid pills.
• A short leisure walk after your meals helps in proper digestion.

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