Heartburn and Pregnancy
Heartburn is one of those things that we are supposed to accept, right?
Well.. I would have to disagree with that!!
What actually causes heartburn?
Conventional medicine says that the cause of heartburn is from having too much acid in your stomach so they tell you to get antacids or give you a prescription for a PPI. Both of these things reduce the acid in your stomach.
The truth is that heartburn is actually caused by not enough acid in your stomach! This is simple biomechanics, not rocket science. Having the appropriate amount of stomach acid in your stomach causes your cardiac sphincter (the opening of your stomach from your esophagus) to stay nice and tight and closed. This is because your body knows that there is hydrochloric acid in your stomach and doesn’t want it to come into contact with your very sensitive esophagus! When you don't have adequate amounts of stomach acid, the cardiac sphincter relaxes and opens allowing stomach acid to splash up into your esophagus!
Sooooo after learning about the biomechanics of your stomach and esophagus, what do you think of doctors trying to lower your stomach acid even more??
Not good, right!? It's actually going to make the issue worse AND give you other health issues. I firmly believe that doctors over prescribe PPI’s. PPI’s make your stomach stop producing HCl and that has a huge negative ripple effect.
When you have low stomach acid, you are at risk for…
malnutrition
insufficient protein
mineral deficiencies
infections
parasites
and more!
These are very dangerous! Protein needs HCl to break it down, if you have low HCl you can't break down and then absorb the protein you are eating. This is the same principle with minerals. Many minerals need HCl in their activation process to make them usable in our bodies. Minerals are key for kidney health, heart health, your nervous system and so much more! I can go on and go about how dangerous it is to recommend PPI’s and tums to people but I will stop here since this is about pregnancy and heartburn!
Here is a great article about using nutrition to deal with low stomach acid and the causes of it!
Why does it happen in pregnancy?
Heartburn is experienced by mama’s in every trimester and each trimester has a different root cause!
Trimester 1
If you are experiencing heartburn in trimester 1 it could be for a few reasons. The first thing to consider is how has your morning sickness been? Throwing up for months can really hurt our sensitive esophagus and can be contributing to that burning sensation you feel. This can even still be the case if you are only throwing up once a week. The lining of our esophagus is so sensitive that exposure to any HCl can aggravate it!
The other reason is because you have low stomach acid! The same reason people who aren't pregnant get heartburn. You could have started your pregnancy with sub-optimal digestive health which includes low HCl.
a few causes of low stomach acid
Trimester 2
In the beginning of trimester 2, the cause of heartburn is the same as in trimester 1; throwing up and low stomach acid. Later on into your second trimester, especially for first time moms since it usually takes longer for our bellies to “pop”, you could begin to have some heartburn from our growing bellies moving our organs around and pushing up into our stomach. The pressure on the stomach can force open our stomach making some acid spill into the esophagus. This is not common in the second trimester as your uterus is still smaller and not quite reaching up into your ribs. By the end of the second trimester this would be the case forsure!
Trimester 3
There are two main reasons for heartburn in your third trimester and you will manage them differently, which I will explain later on in this blog post. The first root cause is the same as before pregnancy, low stomach acid! If you came into pregnancy with a low stomach or some of your habits during pregnancy could be contributing to your low stomach acid. The other reason is because your baby is now taking up a lot of space and pushing on your stomach. This forces the HCl in your stomach to be pushed up into your esophagus in little burst, usually around meal time, which is uncomfortable and painful!
How to Prevent and Manage Heartburn!
As a Crunchy Mama, I’m all about prevention! Why allow a problem to happen if there are simple things you can do to prevent it, right!?
Optimize Digestion Before Pregnancy
This is so important for you and baby! This involves eating a whole foods, high quality diet, limiting or not drinking alcohol, managing stress (mental, physical, emotional, spiritual), eating mindfully and with intention, not drinking water (or anything) at or around meal time, not over eating, stop using tums and if safe stopping your PPI’s, addressing any underlying health issues that contribute to it such as H.pylori infection or ulcers.
Habits to Promote Healthy Stomach Acid Levels
This is important at all stages of your pregnancy and will help prevent you from getting heartburn in the first place.
These habits include
Eating a whole foods, nutrient dense diet
Not eating processed foods
Eliminating coffee and caffeine
Not drinking carbonated drinks
Limiting your sugar to natural sugars such as (maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, date sugar)
Managing stress (mental, emotional, physical)
Getting lots of sleep
Bring mindful around meal time
Supplement
Using the right supplement, at the right time for you is a great way to support your health! Incorporating an HCl supplement and digestive enzymes can really help to prevent and manage heartburn! I have been taking HCl and digestive enzyme supplements with every meal for my entire pregnancy. Pregnancy is a stress on your body and I wanted to ensure I was breaking down and absorbing my food for me and my growing baby! This is my favorite brand and once again I highly recommend only taking high quality supplements. As always, talk to your natural health care provider about whether or not supplementing with these two are best for you!
Another great supplement to manage heartburn is DGL. They come in little chewable tablets to help give relief when you are experiencing heartburn! (these are a great alternative to tums - actually go get your tums, throw them all away and buy some DGL for you and your family).
Third Trimester Specific’s!
This is all about honoring our babies space and supporting our bodies the best we can!
Eliminate Foods that are Triggering To You
Coffee
Spicy foods
Citrus
Tomatoes
These are a few common trigger foods to temporarily eliminate in your third trimester. It is best to figure out which foods cause your heartburn and eliminate those specific foods. A personalized approach is always best!
Eating Smaller Meals
Your stomach is smaller from your Crunchy Baby taking up so much space. Eating smaller meals will help to not overfill your stomach causing acid to spill into the esophagus.
Sitting up or Walking After Eating
Gravity is your friend! Use it to help keep that acid in your stomach.
These are my best tips and tricks for preventing and managing heartburn when pregnant! I am personally doing these things to prevent heartburn since I haven't experienced it yet, fingers crossed this keeps up!
Let me know if you have any other tips and tricks for heartburn in pregnancy!
