Pregnant Women Often Have Difficulty Sleeping
March 26, 2010 by Marilynn Nelson
Filed under pregnancy
Many people joke about not sleeping after the baby is born, but being pregnant brings its own collection of sleeping issues. Usually women expect to be inconvenienced by trying to sleep with an expanding belly, but there may be lots of other unexpected nighttime issues. A woman’s body undergoes many amazing changes when she becomes pregnant and many of those are unexpected at first. Many women are shocked to experience the many different and challenging side-effects of experiencing pregnancy.
Nighttime leg cramps: Many women suffer from painful nighttime leg cramps. Calf muscle cramps may strike at any period during the pregnancy, but they are most commonly experienced in the 3rd trimester. Changes in vitamin intake, dehydration and the quick weight gain of becoming pregnant may often be reasons for nighttime leg cramps. There are a number of cures for muscle cramps, but be sure to check with your doctor before using them.
Constipation issues: The stomach and other bodily organs are being squeezed together to make room for the growing baby and that tightness commonly impacts the digestive system the most. It’s no surprise that some women should have issues with digestion during pregnancy. Pregnant women can not always be able to avoid digestion issues because some medications designed to alleviate these symptoms are not safe for pregnant women.
Frequent urination problems: Tightness against the urinary system and increased pressure on the kidneys may cause some women to urinate three to six times a night. There is some debate over how much pregnancy contributes to enuresis. Many expecting women suffer through 1 or more unexpected nighttime bedwetting episodes during their pregnancy. Almost all pregnant women experience a growing need to urinate much more often than they are used to.
Pregnant women should be forewarned about sleep issues by their physicians in advance. Some doctors advise pregnant women to sleep with padding around them for convenience and to lay on their left side to help alleviate some of these sleep issues. Different sleep issues will come and go during the length of a pregnancy, and not all women have the same sleep challenges.
For most women being pregnant is a wonderful time, but it’s also important to take good care of your health. Speak regularly with your doctor if you have any of the above medical issues. There is help available for enuresis in pregnant women.
Magnifying Acid Reflux
August 9, 2009 by Shirley Thomas
Filed under pregnancy
Many women tend to experience heartburn symptoms when they are still carrying their babies, and this happens for several reasons. One of these is the increase of hormones in the women’s body while they are pregnant. The occurrence of this will result in softening the ligaments which function is to keep the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) firmly closed. When the LES rests at unsuitable periods, tendency is, this will let the gastric acid and food to reflux back to the esophagus and throat.
This disease strikes adult primarily, while infants and children can also be affected. Normally spurred by eating certain foods, if not pregnancy, or taking a sleep right after eating a heavy meal, a large number of persons suffer from acid reflux at one time or another.
Heartburn or acid indigestion is another name that refers to acid reflux. Heartburn, the major symptom of Acid Reflux in the esophagus, is described to cause a burning uneasiness at the back of the sternum.
Avoid the food that triggers heartburn. Examples of this are chocolates, spicy foods, citrus fruits and juices, mustard, tomatoes and tomato based products, fatty foods, fried foods, and highly seasoned dishes. Try to refer to medical specialists to know the complete list of foods to avoid Acid Reflux. Also, for foods that you may take which contains little danger of causing heartburn.
Now, you might be wondering what could be the best diet to observe to avoid acid reflux, the heartburn free recipes that are fitted to an Acid Reflux diet.
The usual cause of GERD is the increase in acidity or gastric acid production in the body, obesity, pregnancy, or tight-fitting apparels, these all can add to the problem. The yeast infections are also thought to be one of the causes of GERD-like symptoms.
So, people affected by heartburn should follow a diet wherein they eat a small meal during dinner and follow it up with a small snack before they go to sleep, crackers for instance.Likewise, they should make sure that they their meal are rich in complex carbohydrates. This includes breads, rice and pasta; this fixes the excessive acid in the stomach, hence, giving it an easy feeling.
A pregnant woman is advised to take more glasses of water a day, at least 8 to 10 glasses, though this must be taken not just during meals. Through this, the stomach will expand, and then the LES will be given more pressure, obliging it to open inappropriately. Hence, it is really recommended to drink more water and other fluids in between meals.
Remove from your diet high-fat foods, this will tend to stay in the stomach longer, with this, the stomach will be forced to produce more acids for digestion.In addition, avoid eating large meals; this will also stimulate the stomach to produce more acids to digest them.
One the medical specialists’ recommendations is to add more plant protein in your diet, like beans and lentils, in this process the animal protein that you have taken will be replaced.
Maintain a sensible amount of weight, too much weight and fatness will give more stress in your stomach. As a result, this will force stomach contents throughout the LES and to the esophagus. Stay with your doctors guidelines.
If you want additional information regarding proper diet to battle Acid Reflux, you can visit a nutrition-oriented health care practitioner like a dietician, naturopathic physician, or nutritionist. They can give you accurate dietary schemes that will fit your private health needs and objectives.

