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There’s nothing more unpleasant than bloating, burping, passing gas and being uncomfortable
But that’s natural! Especially when there is a bun inside the oven.
Bloating and feeling gassy may be an early sign of your pregnancy. However, you may have to be prepared for constant burping and tooting sounds with the progression of your pregnancy. Expect it to stay with you until you hold your little man or woman in your arms.
What Causes Bloating During Pregnancy?
According to research by the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders, pregnancy bloating is a “feeling that there is an inflated balloon in the abdomen.” The reasons include:
Pregnancy Progression
Research has shown that 66% of pregnant women are significantly bloated in the 1st trimester. Bloating is more common in the early stages of pregnancy, but you can expect gassy feelings throughout. The condition may worsen by the time you reach the third trimester of your pregnancy (at the beginning of the 29th week). The reason is that in the third stage, the foetus develops fully and takes up more space. This exerts pressure on the uterus, intestine, stomach, and the surrounding organs contributing to swelling. What’s more? As the uterus expands, pressure increases on the rectum too, thus intervening with muscle control, and bowel movement, making the wind pass.
Hormonal Fluctuations
Since this gassy feeling is common during pregnancy, especially during the first and last trimesters, we can attribute it to fluctuating hormones. During pregnancy, your body releases the progesterone hormone. Aside from thickening the uterine lining and making blood vessels more abundant, progesterone also relaxes the muscles of the digestive tract and changes gut motility. (The gut produces gas by breaking down bacteria and undigested food in your large intestine). The food inside your stomach sits there for a long time causing gas build-up and triggering the trio – burping, constipation, and passing wind.
Eating Habits
A healthy gut during pregnancy helps you digest easily.
- A healthy diet requires knowledge of what to avoid. There are certain foods like beans, cauliflower, broccoli, etc., which have sugar raffinose contained in them giving you this gassy feeling
- Fructose like honey, pears, ketchup, etc with sugar contributes to pregnancy bloating.
- Additionally, if you have starches like wheat, corn and potatoes, high-fat food and fibre-rich food such as peas, oats, etc, you’ll complain about your flatulence problems.
Avoiding these foods will help you maintain a healthy gut and bloating.
What are the Remedies for Bloating During Pregnancy?
Constipation, heartburn, bloating, etc occur with the baby’s growth inside you. The persistent bloating problem during pregnancy may require consultation with a healthcare practitioner. At the same time, you’d need some natural remedies to get relief from this discomforting condition.
- You must stay hydrated. Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water
- Engage in low-impact pregnancy-safe exercises – try brisk walking & yoga to get rid of pregnancy bloating by speeding up digestion and preventing constipation.
- Include small meals on your pregnancy platter and don’t forget to add fenugreek seeds while cooking your meal.
- Not to wear tight clothes.
In pregnancy, bloating is a normal part of the process. The only thing you need to do is handle it carefully.