Im 5 1/2 mths and no matter (and i mean anything) what i eat i get heart burn. why?

Jennifer - posted on 10/21/2009

Heartburn during pregnancy is mainly caused by two things- 1) As the baby grows, it takes up more room and pushes your organs around- including your stomach. Your stomach gets more and more crunched the further along you get, so there's less room for food and stomach acid inside. And 2) We have a lot more horomones going through our systems while pregnant- some help our muscles and ligaments relax so they can stretch and get ready for birth. Unfortunately, they also make the little "flap" that covers the opening to our stomach relax also- which allows the stomach acid to escape easier.



Try eating frequent, but smaller meals so you still get your calories, but there also won't be a huge amount of food in your belly fighting for space either. Talk to your doctor- they might prescribe something like Nexium if the heartburn is really bad. That's what I took with my daughter and am taking now with my twins. My doctor also said I could take Tums with it if I need it- which lately, I've needed to. Just check with your doctor before taking anything though- there are many meds out there like Pepto that are HUGE No-Nos for pregnant women. Good luck and I hope you find something that works!

Christin - posted on 10/21/2009

yep prilosec worked for me too water was even biting back

Jennifer - posted on 10/21/2009

I was the same way and my doc. perscribed zantac and it worked wonders. I never had heartburn again! Talk to your doc. and see what they say.

Ruth - posted on 10/21/2009

My doctor (but you should ask yours) told me I could take the Prilosec OTC heartburn medicine for the rest of my pregnancy. It dealt with almost all the heartburn--I did have it occasionally again near the end of my pregnancy.

Julie - posted on 10/21/2009

Amanda, is it mild or very bad heartburn? I would suggest you speak to your doctor/midwife about this, they can suggest a treatment and rule out the possibility of preeclampsia (if it's severe and persistent, it could be a symptom of pre-e). Odds are it's due to your little bubs taking up more and more room where your tummy used to be! Good luck!

Brooke - posted on 10/21/2009

because the baby is pushing and moving ur stomach up to make more room for itself your digestive system is getting cramped, causing heart burn. Thats what ive been told by a doc anyway. Rennie tablets work well also. Takes it away in minutes, i found.

Katherine - posted on 10/21/2009

Believe it or not..and this is just an old wives tale...but I had HORRIBLE heartburn with BOTH my boys...EVEN WATER gave me heartburn. I can't tell you scientifically why..the wives tale is that it means the baby will have LOTS of hair..(Both my boys had FULL HEADS OF HAIR). I took Tums Chewables, And Malox Chewables