The first pregnancy presents a woman tremendous learning opportunities. As soon as a woman conceives, levels of the female hormone, progesterone, begins to increase in her bloodstream and this triggers a series of continuous changes in the body. Learning why these changes occur and how to cope with them helps the woman to smoothly tide over the difficulties some of these changes produce.

Progesterone slows down the muscular movements of the uterus and the entire digestive tract. Slowing down the wavelike movements of the digestive tract makes movement of food material along the tract sluggish and lowers digestive efficiency.

The hormone also relaxes the valve, lower esophageal sphincter, controlling movement of food from the food pipe to the stomach, as a result of which, partly digested and acidic contents of the stomach occasionally flow back to the food pipe (esophagus) producing heartburn symptoms.

Though heartburn itself is not very harmful, it is a constant accompanying feature of pregnancy and is quite unpleasant for the woman.

By the second trimester, the maturing fetus causes the uterus to press against the diaphragm separating the lower abdomen from the upper abdomen. This puts pressure on the stomach, which in turn causes reflux of acidic stomach content in the esophagus, thus aggravating heartburn symptoms. Weight gain is a common feature in pregnancy as the body stores extra fat due to hormonal changes. Lack of physical exercise also contributes to this factor.

The dietary habits also change during pregnancy. There is more craving for spicy food, citrus material and other stuff that tickle the taste buds. These foods, by themselves, are difficult to digest; the sluggish digestion aggravates things further and promotes acidity and heartburn. The best way to minimize food-induced heartburn is to keep a diary of foods that cause the worst onset of symptoms and eliminate them completely from the diet.

During pregnancy, lots of medicines and supplements are prescribed for the woman. She is usually put on calcium and iron supplements. These supplements sometimes trigger nausea, acidity and heartburn. Medications administered to keep the body system calm and relaxed slow down digestion and further induce heartburn symptoms.

Pain killers, anti-depressants, anti-inflammatory medications and hypertension pills are also known to cause acidity and heartburn. Most of these medicines relax the esophageal sphincter and cause reflux of acidic stomach contents in the esophagus producing a burning sensation.

Heartburn in pregnancy is no isolated phenomenon. It is stimulated by the changes taking place in the body and aggravated by food and lifestyle habits. Generally, it eases with delivery. By modifying lifestyle and dietary habits and adopting a positive and forward looking attitude, it is very much possible to overcome the temporary discomfort and stay cheerful and happy.

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