Pregnancy Nutrition
Eating to Prevent Heartburn
Heartburn does not just affect those who are high stressed or love their spicy foods. Pregnant women suffer from heartburn too. You will find as your pregnancy progresses that antacids tend to become your best friend. Heartburn has nothing to do with your heart.
It is when the acid from your stomach leaks up into the esophagus. Heartburn is very common during pregnancy. In fact one in four women experience heartburn during their pregnancy usually during the third trimester. The reason is that your baby has grown a tremendous amount and your uterus has moved up and is now putting pressure on your stomach. This crowds the digestive tract and allows acids to travel back up the esophagus. There is an old wives tale that if you have bad heartburn, your baby will have a lot of hair. Of course there is no proof in this but it is a fun thing to believe in.
There are ways you can help prevent heartburn during pregnancy. You can start by taking your time while you eat. Not only will you enjoy your food better but your stomach will not have to work as hard to digest your food. You also want to try eating early and eat at least two hours before you go to bed that night so your body has plenty of time to digest your food.
Keep your meals small. Stick with eating six small meals through out the day. Large meals tend to stuff up your stomach which is already extra squashed thanks to your uterus. A stuffed stomach makes it that more likely that some of the food along with stomach acid will make its way back up the esophagus.
Also, make sure you keep your fluids and solids separate. Too much fluid mixed with too much food can distend the stomach which can aggravate heartburn. You also want to eat sitting up. Don’t eat while lying down, and if you are having a bed time snack make sure you are propped up by pillows.
Your weight plays a part in how much heartburn you may experience. The heavier you are, the more pressure you are placing on your esophageal sphincter. This is another reason why you should not gain to much more than the recommended amount.
Find out what foods cause your heartburn. Once you figure out what foods cause heartburn, you can cut them out of your diet. Some foods you might want to steer clear of are highly seasoned spicy foods, soda, tomatoes sauce, chocolate, and some citrus. Greasy foods are also a big contributor to heartburn. Cutting out greasy, fried food is going to help with your heartburn prevention.
When all else fails, take something for your heartburn. Tums and Rolaids are perfectly safe to take during pregnancy. If you are not comfortable taking any over the counter medicines try some natural ways such as eating a handful of almonds. Almonds are a stomach settler and might help with your heartburn. Another natural remedy is a tablespoon of honey mixed with milk is a favorite for preventing heartburn.
Like with some pregnancy discomforts, heartburn is one that can be avoided as long as you take the steps and eat properly. Even without suffering from a lot of heartburn, your baby still could be born with a full head of hair.
Caffeine and Pregnancy: How much is too much
One of the first things most of us women prepare to say goodbye to once we see those two pink lines on our pregnancy tests is caffeine. Many women will stop their caffeine habit cold turkey out of the sheer fear of doing some sort of damage to the new life growing inside of them. These women will swear off anything that has caffeine in it from coffee, and soda to even chocolate. Then there are some of us who will still drink caffeine but cut back. Instead of drinking five cups of coffee a day, we might cut back to at least one cup of coffee to get us through the day.
Our mothers and grandmothers will probably tell us that they drank the same amount of caffeine pregnant as they did when they were not pregnant and their children turned out fine. However a lot more research has been done since their time and studies are showing that too much caffeine can cause some complications such as preterm labor and/or low birth weight.
So how much caffeine is too much caffeine? Doctors are telling their patients that a moderate amount of caffeine will not harm their babies. Even though caffeine does cross the placenta, anything less than 300 milligrams a day (an 8 ounce cup of strong coffee) will not do any harm. Anything over 300 milligrams puts your baby at risk and studies have also shown that women who drink more than 300 milligrams of caffeine a day during their first trimester have a slightly higher risk of a miscarriage.
Studies have also shown that women who had over 500 milligrams of caffeine a day had babies who had faster heart rates and faster breathing rates. These babies also spent more time awake in their first few days of life rather than peacefully sleeping after their long journey.
There are a number of other reasons why we women might want to cut back on the amount of caffeine we drink during pregnancy. For starters, it has no nutritional value. If there is ever a time for us to be aware of our nutritional needs it is when we are pregnant. Second, caffeine is a stimulant which will increase your heart rate and can cause insomnia and headaches which can put some stress on your growing little one. Third, caffeine can cause heartburn. If you have been pregnant before you know that heartburn can be a burden to begin with, and caffeine just makes it worse. Lastly it is a diuretic which means it can cause you to lose fluids which can put you at a risk of becoming dehydrated.
While it is not necessary for you to give up all caffeine through out the duration of your pregnancy, you should learn how to drink it in moderation or don’t drink it at all. If you can not handle having only one cup of coffee a day, then you might be better off drinking no coffee at all. Stick with caffeine free sodas and even decaf coffee. Remember though that decaf coffee still contains small traces of caffeine so make sure you take that into consideration.