Top 10 Tips For Relieving Heartburn During Pregnancy
Heartburn can occur at any time during pregnancy, but may start to affect you from the beginning of the second trimester. Heartburn can feel like a burning or tightening sensation in the chest that can continue up to your throat. It usually occurs after eating and can last from a few minutes to a few hours.
There are several reasons why pregnancy causes heartburn.
Hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy cause the muscle that usually prevents food in the stomach from going back up the oesophagus (throat) to relax, allowing food to travel back up your throat. As your baby continues to grow, it places extra pressure on your stomach potentially worsening heartburn symptoms.
Heartburn may also be caused by imbalances in your stomach acid i.e. not enough stomach acid is being produced. Antacids are the usual prescription for heartburn, however we suggest you avoid them if you can. Antacids are basically candied chalk that absorb and neutralise stomach acid. However, we need stomach acid to digest our food, properly absorb essential nutrients, and move food through our system.
Decreasing stomach acid does nothing to address the underlying issue of heartburn and may lead to nutrient deficiencies for you and your baby. Instead of taking antacids, we recommend making small lifestyle changes to help you ease and avoid heartburn during your pregnancy (see tips below).
But first, identify triggers
Some foods are more commonly irritating for heartburn sufferers than others. Try reducing:
acidic foods: orange, tomato
spicy foods, including black pepper
garlic and raw onions
fried foods
chocolate and peppermint
alcohol and carbonated beverages
coffee and other caffeinated beverages
Reduce inflammatory foods
Chronic heartburn can cause inflammation, which further contributes to improper valve function. Try to reduce inflammatory foods such as sugar, refined grains like white bread, pasta, pastries and cookies, deep-fried food, and pasteurised dairy.
Dairy may help relieve heartburn temporarily because the calcium helps buffer the acid, however its inflammatory properties can worsen the condition dramatically. If you tolerate dairy well, consuming fermented dairy like plain and organic yoghurt or milk kefir may help bring relief while providing beneficial bacteria that aids proper digestion.
Here are our top 10 tips for relieving heartburn during pregnancy:
Take apple cider vinegar, diluted in water, before each meal to stimulate the production of stomach acid.
Add fresh ginger to hot water and consume as a tea 30 minutes before meals.
Reduce meal sizes, larger meals are a known cause of heartburn.
Leave sufficient time between your last meal and going to bed.
Drink between meals instead of with the meal.
Sit upright when eating, slouching compresses your belly, causing less space for your baby and for food.
Avoid fatty and spicy foods.
Avoid caffeine, dairy, gluten, chocolate, processed sugars, refined grains and such citrus fruits as oranges and tomatoes as these are common causes of irritation and food sensitivities.
Eat ripe papaya*, pineapple**, kiwi fruit and apples as they contain beneficial digestive enzymes that are helpful in preventing heartburn.
Eat Greek yoghurt as this can be soothing for the oesophagus.
Probiotics and fermented foods help maintain a balance in the digestive system and thus may help soothe this digestive issue.
Keep blood sugar levels balanced by consuming complex carbohydrates and avoiding refined carbs and simple sugars. Refer to this article for more info.
Try acupuncture or acupressure to manage your heartburn.
Consult a qualified health practitioner about taking 1 tbsp of slippery elm bark with water with meals and before bedtime. Slippery elm bark is a demulcent that helps form a soothing layer over mucous membranes to crate a stronger barrier against acid and relieve pain and inflammation.
Sleep slightly elevated if heartburn is worse when lying down.
*Yes, it’s safe to eat papaya during pregnancy — just make sure it’s ripe. A well ripened papaya is rich in vitamins C and E, and a good source of fibre and folic acid. Papaya helps to prevent and control constipation and heartburn. For these reasons, our experts in residence recommend pregnant women eat moderate amounts of ripe papaya.
However if the papaya is unripe, then it isn't safe to eat when you're pregnant. An unripe or semi-ripe papaya is rich in a substance called latex. Research shows that this concentrated form of latex may trigger uterine contractions.
**There’s a similar concern about eating pineapple during pregnancy and it causing early miscarriage or brining on labour. However, there’s no scientific evidence to support that pineapple is dangerous during pregnancy. The rumours about pineapple are purely anecdotal.
Pineapple and RIPE papaya are part of a healthy pregnancy diet and may relieve heartburn (as per the article above).
N.B. This information is designed to be used in conjunction with, and is not a substitute for, the advice of your doctor or health care practitioner.