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10 ways to cope with bloating and indigestion during pregnancy

Digestive problems spoiling your pregnancy? Here’s what to do.

12 October 2016
by Glynis Horning

Those high doses of oestrogen and progesterone that your body produces to relax your muscle tissue to accommodate a growing baby, also relax the muscles of your digestive tract. This slows your digestion, which benefits your baby, as there is more time for nutrients to pass through your placenta. 

However, it can be unpleasant for you, causing gas, bloating, indigestion, heartburn, stomach ache, acid reflux (when stomach acid comes up into your throat) and constipation

Try these tips to combat this discomfort:

1. Wear clothes that fit loosely around your middle – that may mean ditching your jeans (however loose) for dungarees, your skirts for frocks. 

2. Don’t bend at the waist, it can make indigestion worse – rather bend at your knees.

3. “Avoid foods that commonly trigger indigestion – anything rich, spicy, heavily seasoned, fried, fatty or processed,” says Cape Town dietitian Annelie Smith. 

4. Also avoid fizzy drinks, fruit juice (especially citrus), caffeinated drinks and especially alcohol (which you should in any case not be drinking when pregnant). “Have lots of water throughout the day,” Smith says.

5. Don’t eat large meals – rather have several small ones spread through the day, and eat slowly, chewing food well. 

6. Don’t smoke – you should have quit anyway as it’s harmful to the baby, but smoking also makes you more prone to indigestion and heartburn, as it relaxes the valve between your stomach and gullet, Smith explains.

7. Don’t lie down within an hour of eating – sit upright or go for a stroll. 

8. Don’t go to bed within three hours of dinner. Sleep propped up with pillows (but not so many that you feel pressure on your stomach), or with the top end of your bed elevated about 10cm. Put rolled towels under the mattress, or bricks or planks under the feet at the head of the bed.

9. “If you still suffer, speak to your pharmacist about a low-salt antacid such as TUMs, to help neutralise stomach acid, or an alginate like Gaviscon, to create a protective film over the lining of your stomach and gullet. Use strictly as instructed,” says Smith.

10. If abdominal pain persists, or you struggle to eat or to keep food down and lose weight, speak to your doctor or midwife.

IMAGE CREDIT: 123rf.com

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