Pregnancy

Being able to give birth to another form of life is the one thing that makes a woman feel complete; it gives her the feeling that her life has come a full circle. Thus, during pregnancy, a woman is treated like a queen and every mood swing; every tantrum of hers is borne with! Many women are aware that their bodies undergo a storm of change during pregnancy. Since their bodies have to work overtime to prepare the easy path for the baby to live before it chooses to come out, the mother has to go through a lot of physiological and psychological changes. One major physiological change that occurs in a pregnant woman, especially during the last trimester of her pregnancy, is indigestion, coupled with heartburn and, in some cases, acidity. Here’s why indigestion occurs and how to avoid or treat it.

How To Treat Indigestion During Pregnancy

Causes

The first reason why women suffer from indigestion, during the last trimester of their pregnancy is because of the added weight that the baby puts on the stomach and intestines, which get squeezed, owing to lack of space, making it extremely sensitive. Also, owing to hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy or gestation, a lot of stomach acids are released causing or aggravating the problem of indigestion during this period. Also, women who are pregnant feel unexplained cravings for all kinds of food, many of which may be spicy or unhealthy in any other way. These are some reasons why women complain of indigestion during pregnancy.

How To Treat

Keep Off

It is best to avoid certain kinds of foods, especially those that would put pressure on the stomach because of the fact that they are difficult to digest. You should postpone eating them till the baby is born or, better still, till the baby is at least six months old. These foods include soda, coffee, spicy foods, orange juice, pineapple juice, chocolate, and grapefruit juice.

Fag Off!

Though we all know that cigarettes have done us no good and we must ‘kick the butt’ as soon as possible, most of us do not know that it increases the amount of acids produced in the stomach, thus aggravating the problem of acidity and indigestion.

Walk, Don’t Talk

As we all know and acknowledge, walking increases the body’s ability to digest food. Thus, pregnant women are often advised to take a walk right after their meals. Also, they must eat five or six small meals each day, instead of three large ones; that way the amount of pressure put on the stomach to digest the food is decreased.

Peppermint

Peppermint tea, available quite easily is an excellent cure for indigestion and causes no side effects on either you or your child. So when you feel like you may get another bout of indigestion, make yourself a cup of peppermint tea.

Elevate

Stomach acids cause indigestion usually when they move upwards. Thus, to keep them from moving upwards, you must lie with your back and head elevated.