Heartburn before childbirth: causes, treatment, prevention. What helps pregnant women with heartburn?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Pregnancy is a difficult test for a woman, because sometimes she feels bad, and she has conditions that she has not experienced before. One of them is heartburn before childbirth. The article will consider the factors of the occurrence of pathology, the features of the course and ways to overcome it.

Causes of heartburn

In a normal state, chewed food passes from the mouth to the stomach. It is characterized by an alkaline environment, which ensures the physiological state of the mucosa. The sphincter is located between the stomach and esophagus. Due to relaxation and tension, it opens and closes the gap between the organs.

In a he althy person, the sphincter is constantly closed, except for the moment food moves from the esophagus to the stomach. When pathological conditions occur, the muscle can relax at other times, leading to communication between these organs. During this period, the acidic contents of the stomach enter the esophagus.

When the pH changes, mucosal receptors sendsignals to the brain. Therefore, there are unpleasant symptoms - burning and pain in the chest area.

Heartburn in the early stages may be the result of severe toxicosis. Repeated vomiting of acidic stomach contents can irritate the esophagus.

The occurrence of discomfort during pregnancy may be due to an increase in the acidity of gastric juice. This process is facilitated by the production of substances that stimulate the process of digestion. An increase in the amount of hydrochloric acid in the stomach is associated with an increase in the level of placental hormones in the woman's blood. A pathological condition can become a symptom of diseases of the digestive tract.

Heartburn during pregnancy in the third trimester is associated with hormonal changes. This helps to reduce the peristalsis of the stomach and intestines.

Burning behind the sternum is associated with the food that women take during pregnancy. It can be chocolate, citrus, fatty or smoked food.

This symptom often occurs with a passive lifestyle and frequent horizontal position.

Effect on pregnancy

Heartburn as an independent symptom does not directly affect the process of carrying a baby. When the contents of the stomach are thrown into the esophagus no more than 3 times a week, there is no threat to the he alth of the mother and the unborn child.

Persistent heartburn impairs a woman's quality of life. It provokes melancholy and depression. Negative emotions can lead to stress. Severe heartburn before childbirth increases, so it can causepremature baby.

It is a symptom of diseases of the digestive tract. Pathology impairs the absorption of nutrients. In chronic diseases of the small intestine, iron deficiency anemia may develop. It can lead to oxygen starvation of the fetus. With a prolonged course of the disease, a delay in intrauterine development of the hearth is possible, and sometimes death.

In rare cases, acute fatty degeneration of the liver occurs. Pathology is quite rare, which occurs in one in 10,000 expectant mothers. This is one of the most dangerous diseases.

Diagnosis

Can there be heartburn before childbirth? If such a condition occurs, a woman should consult a gastroenterologist. He will be able to exclude the pathology of the digestive tract. Urgent medical attention is needed for severe heartburn, which is accompanied by vomiting "coffee grounds".

During the consultation, the specialist collects the patient's medical history. The period of the first attack of heartburn, concomitant diseases of the digestive tract and the number of pregnancies are being determined.

The doctor prescribes the necessary tests. If the burning behind the sternum is caused not by an acidic, but by an alkaline environment, then in this case the woman will be prescribed special therapy.

He alth food

What helps pregnant women with heartburn? For prevention purposes, the specialist prescribes a special diet for the woman. The entire daily diet should be divided into 5 meals. Food should be taken at regular intervalstime. The diet should include foods that have an alkaline reaction, neutralizing the hydrochloric acid of gastric juice.

The diet should contain cottage cheese, milk and sour cream. From protein foods, you need to focus on beef, rabbit and chicken. It is not forbidden to eat eggs and fish. Carrots, eggplant and other vegetables are best eaten boiled or stewed.

With severe heartburn before childbirth, foods with an acidic environment are excluded from the diet. A woman needs to give up juices, fresh fruits and vegetables. Fatty and spicy dishes should be excluded from the menu.

Medications

The safest remedy for heartburn is baking soda. It helps to neutralize the acidic contents of the esophagus and stomach. Soda relieves the condition, but after 15-20 minutes, heartburn resumes again. Therefore, it should only be used when absolutely necessary.

Inexpensive heartburn pills include antacids. They do not harm the fetus. They have an effect similar to the effect of soda. These include Rennie, Maalox, Phosphalugel and Almagel suspensions.

This group of drugs is used one hour after a meal. They also need to be taken at night. Antacids should not be combined with other drugs.

For heartburn, which is accompanied by belching and vomiting, it is recommended to take prokinetics. They accelerate the motility of the digestive tract andrelieve the woman of negative symptoms. The group of drugs includes "Sab Simplex" and "Espumizan".

In addition to inexpensive pills for heartburn, adsorbents are used to stop attacks. They are able to regenerate the mucous membrane of the digestive tract and remove harmful metabolic products from the body. "Smekta" is the safest adsorbent that can be used during pregnancy without a negative effect on the fetus.

If there is no therapeutic effect, doctors prescribe proton pump inhibitors. Drugs reduce the acidity of gastric juice, preventing attacks of heartburn. The most famous include Omeprazole and Rabeprazole.

Folk remedies

What helps pregnant women with heartburn? Before using any folk remedy, a woman should consult a doctor. To relieve attacks of heartburn, olive or sunflower oil is sometimes used. The product is able to envelop the gastric mucosa, reducing the negative effects of hydrochloric acid.

Potato is a natural remedy for heartburn. To do this, prepare the root crop in water and infuse the resulting solution for several hours. This remedy is drunk half an hour before meals.

Celery root is also used to prevent heartburn. It is used three times a day 30 minutes before meals. An infusion of dried plant roots has a similar effect.

Healing herbs are also used to reduce an attack of heartburn. They prepare decoctions and infusions. Most often used wormwood and chamomile. The tool is taken by severalonce a day half an hour before meals.

Possible Complications

Constant reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus provokes irritation of its mucosa. Aggressive acidic environment promotes cell death, as well as the formation of ulcers and erosions. Heartburn during pregnancy in the third trimester contributes to the occurrence of esophagitis - inflammation of the mucous membrane of the esophagus.

It leads to difficulty in swallowing and stagnation of food masses in the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Frequent attacks of heartburn are one of the attacks of benign and malignant neoplasms of the esophagus. Hydrochloric acid can cause abnormal cell division of the mucous membrane of the organ. Constant reflux of acidic contents can lead to bleeding.

Prevention

What to do with heartburn before childbirth, of course. But how can this condition be avoided? This can be as simple as changing some habits. The following tips will help reduce heartburn attacks:

1. It is necessary to divide the woman's diet into 5-6 meals a day. It is better to eat often, but in small portions.
2. A woman should not overeat, because a full stomach produces hydrochloric acid in large quantities, which exacerbates this condition.
3. Eat food in a calm environment and chew every bite thoroughly. When eating on the go, swallowing air causes heartburn.
4. After a meal, a woman needs to sit or stand. Pregnant notit is recommended to lie down or bend over in the first hour after eating. A woman should not eat at night.
5. So that heartburn does not torment a pregnant woman at night, you need to put a few pillows under your head. A slightly elevated position prevents the backflow of acidic stomach acid into the esophagus.
6. When located on the left side, a woman is less likely to be bothered by heartburn. Among other things, the child will receive the maximum amount of blood, as well as oxygen and nutrients.
7. A pregnant woman should remember the foods she gets heartburn on. It can be coffee, chocolate, citrus and spicy dishes. They should be completely eliminated from the diet.
8. Women should wear loose clothing that does not constrict their stomach or chest. This contributes to the growth of intra-abdominal pressure, and so high during pregnancy.

Following these rules will help reduce the occurrence of heartburn attacks.

Conclusion

Heartburn before childbirth is a normal condition that occurs as a result of pregnancy and rarely causes any negative consequences. As a rule, it disappears without a trace after the birth of a child.