Heartburn remedies?

[Sprout]

I am fighting that age-old enemy, heartburn. I was wondering if anyone has any natural remedies for short-term relief. I'm not looking for medical advice or medications. This is caused by pregnancy and I've only got a couple weeks left. Once the baby is out, the heartburn will go away. Here are some things that won't work for me:

"Don't eat right before bed." -I eat right before bed & still wake up in the middle of the night and need to eat something before I can get back to sleep. If I don't eat right before bed I'll just wake up that much sooner in need of a snack.

"Don't eat acidic foods." -Doesn't seem to matter if I eat plain bread or drink a full glass of OJ, the heartburn comes no matter what.

Heartburn Medications -Most aren't safe for pregnancy

I've been taking Tums as needed, but they're starting to feel like a food group, so I was wondering if anyone knows any foods or drinks that naturally ease heartburn. I appreciate any input! Thanks!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Ginger Ale! And your TUMS are adding calcium.

 

[Andy M.]

It's less an issue with what you eat and don't eat and more an issue of the little imp you're carrying around. He or she is putting upwards pressure on your stomach.

Try elevating the head end of your bed a little. A piece of 2x4 or two under the two legs at the head end of the bed should do the trick. You can also elevate your top end with extra pillows.

 

[Sprout]

Try elevating the head end of your bed a little. A piece of 2x4 or two under the two legs at the head end of the bed should do the trick. You can also elevate your top end with extra pillows.

I'm actually sleeping on the couch at the moment, since our bed is too firm for me right now & makes my hips & legs go numb. I switch from end to end instead of rolling over so the couch can always support my back, but I can certainly try the extra pillows. I was putting off trying it because I was worried it would just put more weight on my hips & legs, but it's probably worth a try at this point. One of those lesser of two evils situations. I know! I could just go into labor and be done! Just a couple more weeks...

 

[Selkie]

1 tsp. baking soda in 1/2 glass of water - immediate relief antacid effect, non-medicine - pure chemistry - pregnancy safe. That's what baking soda does... react with acids to neutralize them, making CO2 in the process (bubbles for baked goods and to power children's bathtub toys! ).

O.J. and lemon is VERY ACIDIC!!! - major source of Citric Acid. Bread stimulates stomach hydrochloric acid. Acid neutral drinks (as far as a stomach is concerned) would be apple juice, pomegranate juice, ginger ale, green tea (black tea is acidic). For evening snacks I suggest cheese, graham crackers, peanut butter, a salad with minimal dressing (no vinegar!).

 

[Snip 13]

Make yourself a cup of mint or aniseed tea. I tsp of aniseed or dried mint, cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Leave for 5 mins then strain. Sweeten with honey and add a splash of lemon if liked. Tastes good and works like a charm. And it's safe!!!
This one might sound a bit strange but it works instantly. Eat one tsp of ground instant coffee straight, just chew and swallow. I know some moms don't touch coffee while pregnant but a tsp full is fine. 2 Small cups of coffee a day won't harm your baby since your allowed 300mg of caffeine per day. If you're desperate the last remedy works well.

 

[Hoot]

I ain't no doctor and I don't play one on TV.
Mrs Hoot often says I have a cast iron stomach, but occasionally my belly complains and I get some heartburn. Yogurt seems to straighten me out pretty quick. Plain is what I usually eat but the fruited yogurt seems to serve the purpose as well. I hope you find some relief!!
Good luck!

 

[Timothy]

During a pregnancy, all bets and rules are off!

Your body will do what it wants to, regardless of your desires or comfort, as you've no doubt already found out.

You may just have to tolerate the heartburn until the baby is born, but afterwards, here's some information that may help you:

You've said that you have a habit of eating right before bed and also during the night after waking hungry. If this persists after you have your baby, then it may well be that you've "trained" your body to produce enzymes and acids in anticipation of these snacks. Instead of your body reacting to food that you've eaten, it's anticipating the food and secreting the enzymes and acids into an empty stomach which you then fill and cause it to produce even more. You can also "Un-Train" it. Eat no later than 3 hours before bedtime and eat absolutely nothing else until you wake and are up for the day. Your body will adapt and stop producing stomach acid as often, in anticipation of snacks.

Eat several small meals, at least 3 hours apart, during your waking hours. This will give your stomach time to completely digest what you've put in it, and allow it to "turn off" the enzymes and acids until your next meal.

Good luck to you, and I hope you have as little discomfort as possible until your baby is born! If you print out what I've just said and let your Doctor read it, he/she will almost undoubtedly agree.

If you still have frequent heartburn, it may be something your Doctor would prescribe a chronic med, such as "Omeprazole" for.

 

[jabbur]

I agree with the positional fix during pregnancy. Get a wedge pillow that you can sleep on. I know folks like to raise the whole top of the bed like Andy said but often all that achieves is that you slide to the bottom! A Wedge pillow will elevate only you leaving your loving DH flat. This is what I'm talking about. Acid Reflux pillow wedge relieves GERD, heartburn, acid indigestion, Gastroesophageal Reflux and more.

 

[Sprout]

You've said that you have a habit of eating right before bed and also during the night after waking hungry. If this persists after you have your baby, then it may well be that you've "trained" your body to produce enzymes and acids in anticipation of these snacks. Instead of your body reacting to food that you've eaten, it's anticipating the food and secreting the enzymes and acids into an empty stomach which you then fill and cause it to produce even more. You can also "Un-Train" it. Eat no later than 3 hours before bedtime and eat absolutely nothing else until you wake and are up for the day. Your body will adapt and stop producing stomach acid as often, in anticipation of snacks.

Eat several small meals, at least 3 hours apart, during your waking hours. This will give your stomach time to completely digest what you've put in it, and allow it to "turn off" the enzymes and acids until your next meal.

Good luck to you, and I hope you have as little discomfort as possible until your baby is born! If you print out what I've just said and let your Doctor read it, he/she will almost undoubtedly agree.

If you still have frequent heartburn, it may be something your Doctor would prescribe a chronic med, such as "Omeprazole" for.

I only eat right before bed and during the night when I'm pregnant or nursing. I kept waking up nauseated in my 2nd trimester with DD & had trouble falling back to sleep and my doula suggested trying a light snack. It worked like a charm. As the pregnancy progressed I started waking a couple times during the night & noticed that if I ate something light right before bed I'd only need one snack during the night.Then when I was strictly nursing her I'd drink lots of water and eat a small snack each time she ate during the night (usually only once) on my Dr's orders because they worried that I was dropping weight too fast in the beginning (I also had gallstones, so I was on a nearly fat-free diet & it's very difficult to eat enough calories to support milk production when you can't even eat healthy fats!) Once I was able to have my gallbladder removed & I was able to eat a bit heartier meals I started eating less frequently, & just gradually cut out the snacking as she started on solids & eventually weaned herself. I didn't start the night snacking again until about a month ago with this pregnancy.

When I'm not pregnant I'm a runner, so I try to listen to my body and eat when it tells me to, which usually ends up around every 3 hours give or take. If I'm not hungry though, I'm not going to eat just because the clock says so and if I'm hungry a bit early I'll eat instead of letting myself get overly hungry & over-eating.

I appreciate the advice, though! With DD the heartburn went away as soon as she was no longer pushing on my stomach (once she was born), so as far as I know the same should happen this time.

 

[Sprout]

A Wedge pillow will elevate only you leaving your loving DH flat.

I don't have to worry about DH, he doesn't quite fit on the couch with me.

I've only got 2 weeks until my due date, so I'd rather not buy something that probably won't come until after the baby does.

I did try to prop myself up with pillows last night, though and it worked! I couldn't sleep that way all night, but as the heartburn usually only comes in the beginning of the night, by the time I needed to lay flat I was fine. I'll try some of the other suggestions to for individual cases if I need to. Thanks, all!

 

[Alix]

Tums and soda crackers were my best friends whe I was pregnant. I went through a Costco sized bottle of the stuff! Soda crackers will help too. They have the chemistry to help, and they soak up any liquid that is causing trouble. I personally like a little cheese with my crackers too. Good luck! I can also recommend a few safe ways to help induce labour, but those are for PM only.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Tums and soda crackers were my best friends whe I was pregnant. I went through a Costco sized bottle of the stuff! Soda crackers will help too. They have the chemistry to help, and they soak up any liquid that is causing trouble. I personally like a little cheese with my crackers too. Good luck! I can also recommend a few safe ways to help induce labour, but those are for PM only.

The video of Bill Cosby, "Himself." The part where he describes the birth of his firstborn...that works for inducing labor.

 

[Sprout]

Now you've got me curious, Alix. Just FYI, I refuse to try castor oil. We're already trying some of the more common ones, but maybe you can surprise me!

 

[Snip 13]

Now you've got me curious, Alix. Just FYI, I refuse to try castor oil. We're already trying some of the more common ones, but maybe you can surprise me!

Don't ever use castor oil it can be harmful to your baby and even fatal!
Eating under ripe papaya, rasberry leaf tea, pineapple, oregano, thyme and erm sperm all help induce labor naturally. Don't eat the last suggestion obviously.This was what my midwife told me anyway.

 

[jusnikki]

Hey Sprout,

You'll probably have to suffer until your body gets passed that stage. I'm sorry...but when I was pregnant, I had the worse case of heartburn and indigestion. The only thing I was told (by the doctor) to take was maalox. Didn't help. I actually even lost weight. Went from 130lbs to 118 because the indigestion was so bad. When I was about 7 months it just stopped, lol. Oh what a relief it was.. If you can bear it, I wouldn't take anything. There is so much now that can cause future problems. At the same token I know how constant heartburn can feel.

I hope it get's better for you. There is nothing like being pregnant and having stomach problems. I truly feel for you..

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Now you've got me curious, Alix. Just FYI, I refuse to try castor oil. We're already trying some of the more common ones, but maybe you can surprise me!

Have your Mom make a dental appointment in the next couple of weeks, as soon as she's in the chair, you should go into labor.

 

[jabbur]

So Sprout how are you doing? Still sleeping on the couch or is there a new offshoot?

 

[Sprout]

Still sleeping on the couch. Waiting, waiting, waiting...

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Still sleeping on the couch. Waiting, waiting, waiting...

Waiting, waiting, waiting on this end, too...I'm just not as uncomfortable as you are. Hang in there, we are all sending you good thoughts and prayers.