TRAINING FOR TWO

Move Confidently in Pregnancy!

Order Our BOOK!
NEW COURSE! ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Pelvic Biomechanics ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ for Pregnancy and Birth. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ NEW COURSE! ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Pelvic Biomechanics ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ for Pregnancy and Birth. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ NEW COURSE! ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Pelvic Biomechanics ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ for Pregnancy and Birth. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎◆ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
Login
GET STARTED
Written by

Roxanne Albert, BSN, RNC-OB

Heartburn During Pregnancy: 2 Major Hormonal Changes Why It Happens

  • Birth Preparation
Heartburn is a common symptoms that occurs during pregnancy. This can start as early as the first trimester and is caused by the changes in our body and hormones during pregnancy.

What is Heartburn?

Before we understand why heartburn during pregnancy occurs, we need to unnderstand what is Heartburn.

Heartburn is caused when your stomach acids pass up the esophagus for any reason. This is a symptom of acid reflux.

There is a sphincter at the bottom of the espophagus called the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) that prevents the acid from going up the esophagus, but if it does not close or becomes relaxed (like during pregnancy) then it leaves the esophagus open for the stomach acid to pass upwards.  

This can occur outside of pregnancy to anyone, but it is very common during pregnancy. They say over half of all pregnant people will experience heartburn at some point during their pregnancy.

Take charge of your childbirth experience!

Thanks to our Childbirth Education Course you can get all the right tools and knowledge to navigate labor and delivery smoothly.

Say goodbye to uncertainty and follow the steps that thousands of mothers before you followed – enroll now and discover all the secret to empowering birth.

Why heartburn during pregnancy?

The hormonal changes in the body causes changes the the Gastointestinal system that can lead to increased risk of heartburn. 

There are two major hormonal changes that increase the risk of heartburn: 

  1. The increase in the hormone Progesterone leads to the LES relaxing more which allows more acid to move upwards. 
  2.  Hormonal changes can cause a decrease in how fast we digest food. Food moves slower through the GI system causing more bloat and heartburn when eating certain foods.
 

Another cause is the increased pressure as the baby and the uterus grows. It puts more pressure on the stomach pushing more of the stomach acids upward. This can increase the occurrence of heartburn later in pregnancy. 

Childbirth Education Course

Learn the science of pregnancy and birth to take the mystery of labor away! Understand why you are feeling what you feel, and learn strategies to confidently move through pregnancy and birth!

  • 9 hours of on-demand video
  • Lifetime Access of E-Course
  • Watch on Mobile Device
Join now
Learn More

How do you know it is heartburn?

Symptoms of Heartburn can differ depending on the person. Most will feel the burning in the chest around the sternum(middle of the chest) but some will not have this at all!

Symptoms:

  • Feel burning or pain in your chest around the sternum
  • Feel bloated, full, or lots of just pressure in the upper abdomen
  • Increased Burping or feeling like you need to burp
  • Feel nauseous or sick

How can we prevent heartburn during pregnancy from happening?

Prevention is the best tip! We want to avoid things that can cause it from happening if we can, since it can be very uncomfortable!
 
  1. Adjusting your diet to remove foods that trigger the heartburn – for me it was really cheesy foods
  2. Eating smaller more frequent meals throughout the day
  3. Avoiding eating a meal shortly before bedtime, if you must eat late at night make it something lighter
  4. Limit Caffeine (this one is hard for me…i love my morning coffee too much)
  5. Staying Upright after eating for 30-40 mins to allow for food to digest before laying down.
  6. Sleeping upright using all the pillows as props if it gets really uncomfortable

How do we treat it if it does occur?

There are a few “tips or tricks” that many recommend, but they may not work for everyone! 

The main goal is to try to neutralize the acids or decrease the amount of acid in the stomach to decrease the effect of the heartburn if we can!

Below are some of the things you can try. Always recommended to consult your provider before taking any supplements and medicines during pregnancy!

  • Drinking a glass of milk or eating yogurt
  • Eating Red Apples or any non-citrus fruits*
  • Antacids or Alginate over the counter medication like Tums, Pepcid, Gaviston
    • Per my midwife Gaviston is what she recommends to most because it is magnesium based and doesn’t give as bad of a rebound heartburn like tums! My husband is a fan of pepcid for his heartburn!
  •  If nothing else or the heartburn is affecting your ability to eat, your provider may prescribe other medications that are stronger. 

Considerations during labor!

During labor if you get heartburn, they can give you medication to help with it through your IV (if you are in the hospital), but certain positions may NOT be comfortable during labor if you have heartburn.

Particularly any inverted positions or reclined positions. Trying to be more upright if possible can help avoid or lessen the heartburn related discomfort. 

Being conscious of the foods you are eating during labor to fuel your body, avoid food that trigger the heartburn if you can.

Heartburn is very common during pregnancy due to the changes in our body and hormones. It can be treated but prevention is the best approach!