Help with heartburn while pregnant

Pregnancy can relax the muscle between the stomach and food pipe, while the growing uterus can increase pressure inside the abdomen. This may allow stomach contents to travel upwards, causing burning, a sour taste or discomfort after meals. These symptoms can overlap with acid reflux, but severe or unfamiliar pain should not be assumed to be ordinary heartburn.

Choose smaller meals, eat slowly and avoid lying down soon after eating. Identify foods and drinks that worsen your symptoms rather than removing a broad range of foods unnecessarily. Sleep with your upper body raised if symptoms disturb the night. Before taking an antacid, acid reflux medication or a home remedy, check its ingredients and suitability with your obstetric team or pharmacist; some products are unsuitable in pregnancy or may interfere with other medicines.

Get urgent help for chest pressure, breathlessness, fainting, severe pain, vomiting blood or black stools. Contact your maternity team promptly if you cannot keep fluids down, swallowing is difficult, symptoms are severe or persistent, or you have pain with headache, visual changes, marked swelling or feeling very unwell. A review can check both reflux and pregnancy-related causes of upper abdominal discomfort.

Ask which medicines and doses are suitable at your stage of pregnancy, how to space them from supplements, and when symptoms need an examination. A note of meals, timing, sleep disruption and current medicines can make the discussion clearer.