When a woman becomes pregnant, she hears all kinds of stories from everyone, all the time. It’s very common to hear tales like if you feel a certain pain, the baby will be one sex or the other, or even stories that heartburn is a sign of a hairy baby, for example. But is any of this really true? Whether true or not, one thing is for sure: heartburn during pregnancy is real and can be managed. Among the many symptoms and changes a pregnant woman experiences, heartburn is one of those symptoms that seems harmless but can be very bothersome and affect your life in some way. So why not look into this matter more deeply?

Is It True or a Myth?

The story that heartburn is a sign of a hairy baby is a myth. Yes, even though many people believe in this tale, it’s nothing more than a popular belief passed down from generation to generation. It’s very common for you to meet people who wholeheartedly believe in this and other tales that link pains women feel to some physical characteristic of the baby or even to the baby’s sex. But instead of completely dismissing these popular beliefs, it’s interesting to think about why they exist. Taking the theme of this article as an example, we can conclude that it’s common for pregnant women to experience heartburn. But why does this happen?

What Causes Heartburn During Pregnancy?

We all know that pregnancy brings many changes to a woman’s body and that there’s a real storm of hormones brewing inside. This affects women on many levels: emotionally, in terms of weight, the bladder, breasts, and also the stomach. But

How Does This Happen?

The different hormones produced in a pregnant woman’s body mainly cause changes in digestion, which can lead to heartburn. Beta HCG is produced mainly during the first 3 months of pregnancy, and when a woman is pregnant with twins, heartburn symptoms can become even stronger. From the fourth month of pregnancy, there’s a significant increase in progesterone, which means the woman’s stomach takes longer to digest food and, consequently, reflux becomes more common. But beyond that, there is another explanation for why these symptoms happen during those 9 months. What happens is that, due to the uterus growing, other organs are pushed aside inside the body, and the stomach is one of them. Because it’s compressed, the organ ends up causing more stomach acid reflux, which also leads to heartburn during pregnancy. Even so, the main factor that causes this is the increase in hormones.

How to Relieve Heartburn During Pregnancy

Although heartburn is a fact of life for almost all pregnant women, there are some steps that can be taken to ease these symptoms so that women don’t suffer as much. The main ways to relieve heartburn during pregnancy are:

  • Get good sleep;
  • Eat well;
  • Maintain healthy habits

Let’s talk about each of these and show how these factors can help ensure heartburn during pregnancy isn’t so troublesome.

Get Good Sleep

Getting enough rest helps avoid stress, which keeps the stomach from producing unnecessary gastric juices that can cause pain. At bedtime, a good tip is to raise the head of your bed and sleep on your left side, which helps prevent reflux.

Eat Well

This might be the main factor in relieving heartburn during pregnancy, so it’s important to know what to eat and what to avoid. Apart from the underlying factors already mentioned, the types of food a woman eats can make heartburn worse or milder. Meals should be light, in small amounts taken several times throughout the day, always chewing very well. This way your body won’t feel the need for more food and your digestive system won’t be overwhelmed. It’s also very important to avoid things like soda, processed foods, greasy foods, very acidic or spicy foods. In addition, drinking at least 1.5 liters of water a day is essential. All these tips not only help prevent heartburn during pregnancy, but also keep you healthier in general during pregnancy and help avoid other problems.

Maintain Healthy Habits

Another important step that helps not only relieve heartburn during pregnancy, but also helps with a healthier pregnancy overall, is maintaining good habits. Doing pregnancy-safe exercises, avoiding unnecessary stressful situations, not smoking, and following the steps mentioned above all help a lot in avoiding pain and having a more peaceful pregnancy.

How Do You Know if Your Baby Will Be Born Hairy?

Now that we know the story that heartburn is a sign of a hairy baby is a myth, how can you tell if a baby will be born bald or with hair? The first thing to take into account is genetics, inherited from the parents or grandparents in most cases. So, knowing how the baby’s parents and grandparents were born can give a good idea of how much hair your baby will have at birth. In ultrasounds done in later stages of pregnancy, it’s sometimes possible to see if the baby already has a lot of hair. But no matter how much hair your child is born with, they’ll end up growing more, sooner or later. It all comes down to genetic trends, and this doesn’t affect the baby’s health or development in any way. Pregnancy is a time when many changes will happen to your body. So many changes that it’s only natural to have reactions like heartburn, for example. This is how a lot of people keep passing down these beliefs and myths by word-of-mouth, and for many, they become unquestionable facts. Knowing that heartburn is not a sign of a hairy baby is important not just so you know it’s a myth, but so you can investigate what’s really happening in your body and, in turn, learn how to treat it. There are some pains during pregnancy that can’t be cured or completely eased, but others—such as heartburn—can be fought, and it’s important to do so to avoid bigger problems during this very important period of your life. See also: Pregnancy Myths and Truths – Superstitions and Beliefs Photo: StockSnap