Heartburn During Pregnancy - Why Do You Get Refluxed Acid When You Are Expecting?

Heartburn during pregnancy is actually a common condition. The goods news is that it usually passes although in some cases it can remain after childbirth. In this article, I'll tell you exactly why you can get heartburn during pregnancy and what you can do about it.

Understand Your Anatomy

When you swallow food it passes down a long pipe called the esophagus. This connects to the top of the stomach via a "trap door" called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES).

The LES remains shut at all times unless food is passing from the end of the esophagus and into the stomach. In people with heartburn, there can be an abnormality with the LES.

Why Do You Get Heartburn During Pregnancy?

When you are pregnant, the foetus and extra body fat exerts pressure on your stomach and this flexes or "distends" it. When this happens, the lower esophageal sphincter does not work any more as it should.

Instead of remaining closed most of the time, the LES is more likely to stay open. Acid can escape the stomach and enter the esophagus. When this happens you can feel it as a burning sensation that we all call heartburn.

The goods news is that heartburn passes quickly after childbirth. There are also a number of things that you can do to ease the symptoms until then.

Drugs

One option is drugs. You can only get these from your doctor and you should tell him that you are expecting a baby. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies recommend that you can take proton pump inhibitor drugs such as omeprazole because studies appear to show no ill effects to the foetus.

Natural Remedies

There are also a number of natural remedies that you can try such as aloe vera juice.

The question you must ask yourself is "do you really trust that drugs will not harm your baby?"

Some doctors will advise against any taking any drugs during pregnancy unless your life is threatened. If you take the same view then you may want to stick to natural methods.

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