If you suffer from heartburn or indigestion during pregnancy, then you will be glad to know that you can find relief. One of the best ways to get rid of heartburn while you are pregnant is by using Tums during pregnancy. Here is everything you need to know about Tums during pregnancy.
Let’s take a look at what heartburn is, how you can find relief and energy by changing your diet during pregnancy, and how Tums during pregnancy will help you get over this annoying pregnancy symptom.
What Is Heartburn?
Heartburn is the burning sensation that you feel climbing up your throat. You can feel it immediately after you have eaten a meal, or hours later. You don’t have to be pregnant to experience heartburn. In fact, you may have already experienced it before. This is especially true if you have eaten a hearty meal that is either spicy or deep fried.
How Does Heartburn Happen?
You may have experienced heartburn several times before pregnancy. However, you may find yourself experiencing it more when you are pregnant. You see, when you are pregnant, there is a rapid change in the levels of hormones in your body. This rapid change can cause an early or late onset of heartburn throughout your pregnancy.
When you are pregnant, a hormone called progesterone is released to help relax and smooth out the muscles in your uterus. The upside of this hormone is that it will make delivery and your progression through pregnancy easier because it loosens up your muscles. The downside is that progesterone will also relax other muscles in your body. One such muscle is the valve that separates your esophagus from your stomach.
When this happens, your food is less likely to stay down. Your food has more of a chance of coming back up thus causing heartburn. The unpleasant feeling you have when you feel heartburn starting to set in is your gastric acid slowly seeping back up your throat. Normally, this wouldn’t happen because the valve that keeps your food down is no longer doing well at its job. Unfortunately, the sensation is accompanied by a burning feeling in your throat that makes you want to gag. The good news is, you can get over this unpleasant feeling. Taking Tums during pregnancy can help keep some of the heartburn at bay.
Read on to see how to use Tums during pregnancy appropriately. Not only that, be we will give you some of the best tips and tricks you can use to help avoid heartburn during pregnancy altogether.
Is Heartburn Safe In Pregnancy?
Heartburn is an entirely normal and expected symptom of pregnancy. The further along you are in your pregnancy, the more relaxed your muscles become, thus the more heartburn you will experience. This is the same for the muscles in your stomach area. Because of this, you are more likely to experience heartburn in the later stages of your pregnancy. Although it is a great discomfort, rest easy knowing that it is entirely normal for your body to experience this.
Find Relief
One of the best ways to relieve yourself of heartburn is to treat it with Tums during pregnancy. Unlike many medicines during pregnancy, Tums can be a godsend. Not only are Tums a safe method to treat indigestion in pregnancy, but it is also beneficial for you. Tums adds an additional level of calcium to your diet. Your body needs anywhere from 1,000 to 1,300 mg of elemental calcium per day. If you are not getting that much in your diet, then Tums can help offset any deficit you may have.
1. Time Your Tums Accordingly
If you are taking Tums during pregnancy, then a good thing to do is space it out. Especially if you are taking iron supplements as well. You will want to space your Tums and iron supplements at least two hours apart. By spacing out your Tums, iron supplements (and any other supplements), you are more likely to get the full beneficial needs of both supplements.
2. Alter Your Diet
One of the best ways to fight off heartburn is by altering your diet. This is especially critical during pregnancy. You can change your diet by staying away from fried foods. Fried foods will keep your stomach unsettled and will likely cause you more heartburn. Another way to fight off heartburn is by avoiding spicy food. You want your stomach to be calm not agitated by the spicy flavors. The best way to fight off heartburn is by sticking with bland, foods like yogurt and crackers that won’t upset your stomach too much.
3. Avoid Big Meals
Along with taking Tums during pregnancy, something that you will really want to do to fight off heartburn is breaking up your meals into smaller ones. Instead of sitting down for a full hearty meal three times a day, break up your three meals into six smaller ones. When you break up your meal into smaller ones, you are giving your stomach the chance to digest your food properly. The easier you take it on your digestion process, the less likely you are suffer from heartburn.
4. Don’t Lay Down After A Meal
Let gravity do you some good. Once you have eaten a meal, avoid laying down immediately after. You will want the digestive process to be as effective as it can be. You can help this process out a bit by not laying down once you have had a meal.
5. Sleep Upright
As you get into the final stages of your pregnancy, heartburn can make sleeping when you are pregnant that much more difficult. Alongside using Tums during pregnancy, it can be helpful to sleep upright or in a sitting position. Sleeping upright will help settle the acid in your stomach and will help keep it down. By doing this, you can rest knowing that you heartburn will not be keeping you up for a majority of the night.
Final Thoughts
The aches and pains of pregnancy are going to be there regardless. You don’t have to suffer unnecessarily. Taking Tums during pregnancy is not only safe, but it can be effective in stopping this annoying pregnancy symptom. The main thing that you want to keep in mind is never to take more than the recommended amount. And of course, as always, it is best to speak to your doctor first before you begin taking Tums during pregnancy.
