The Heartburn and Pregnancy Connection

Heartburn and pregnancy can occur when there is a leakage of acid into the esophagus by the stomach. Many pregnant women suffer from heartburn during pregnancy and nutrition battles with good health care. One out of every four pregnant women suffers from heartburn, generally in the third trimester. The main reason for this is as your baby grows the uterus moves up applying pressure on the stomach. The digestive tract is then compressed allowing the acid to travel back to the esophagus.

You can head off heartburn during pregnancy in many ways. The first thing to do is to eat slowly, this will help with your pregnancy heartburn. This helps you to enjoy the food better and the stomach does not have to overwork for the food to digest. Have your food a minimum of two hours prior to sleeping at night, to give your body enough time for digestion.  Have smaller meals 5 or 6 times a day to allow better digestion.

Try to keep solid food and liquids separately, too much mixing of solids and liquids can give you heartburn. Make sure you are not eating when lying on your back, when you should be sitting up-right. Use a pillow to help keep you straight if you are eating in bed.

Your body weight is also connected with heartburn. There is more pressure on the splinter of esophagus of women who have put on more weight then necessary.Gaining the proper amount of weight as suggested by your doctor is very important.   Do not use being pregnant to over eat, listen to your doctor.

Identify what gives you heartburn. Remove these foods from your diet, once you identify them. There are certain foods and beverages that can cause heartburn like soda, tomato sauce, hot foods,some citrus fruits and chocolate. Consuming oily food can also give you heartburn. Learn the proper foods to eat during pregnancy for better over all health for women.