Acid reflux and heartburn during pregnancy

Pregnancy hormones can relax the muscular valve between the stomach and oesophagus, allowing stomach contents to travel upwards. As pregnancy progresses, pressure from the growing uterus can add to the problem. The result may be burning behind the breastbone, a sour or bitter taste, belching, or symptoms after meals and when lying down. Heartburn describes the burning sensation; acid reflux describes the movement that causes it. The symptom does not come from the heart.

Try smaller, more frequent meals and leave time between eating and lying down. Sit upright during and after meals, notice which foods trigger your symptoms, and avoid tight clothing around the abdomen. Raising the head and shoulders for sleep may help nighttime reflux. Check with your maternity clinician or pharmacist before taking an antacid, alginate, herbal product, or acid-suppressing medicine; suitability and spacing from pregnancy supplements can depend on the ingredients. Do not stop prescribed medicine without clinical advice.

Contact your maternity team urgently for severe upper abdominal pain, a severe or persistent headache, vision changes, sudden swelling, breathlessness, fainting, or chest pain that feels heavy or spreads to the arm, jaw, shoulder, or back. These symptoms should not be put down to reflux. Seek medical advice for difficulty swallowing, food sticking, repeated vomiting, vomiting blood, black stools, unintentional weight loss, dehydration, or reflux that remains troublesome despite appropriate self-care.

Describe where the discomfort occurs, its relationship to food and position, and whether you have nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, swelling, or visual changes. Ask which remedy is suitable at your stage of pregnancy, how to separate it from iron or other supplements, and what to do if symptoms wake you at night. Mention every prescribed, pharmacy, and herbal product so the advice covers possible interactions.