Heartburn causes a burning feeling in the chest or throat. It’s uncomfortable, but is not usually harmful to pregnant women or their babies. 8 out of 10 pregnant women experience heartburn. You're most likely to get heartburn in the third trimester (last 3 months) of your pregnancy. What to expect in the third trimester of pregnancy The symptoms of heartburn include:Symptoms
When to get medical help
Non-urgent advice: You should see your GP if you're:
- losing weight
- vomiting and not keeping food down
- having difficulty swallowing
- experiencing any symptoms of pre-eclampsia (such as a headache, blurred vision, sudden swelling of your hands, feet, legs or face, or a sharp pain under your ribs)
- still getting symptoms after taking heartburn medicine (your GP may prescribe some different medicine)
Causes
Heartburn is caused by acid in your stomach leaking back up the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach (the oesophagus). This acid irritates your oesophagus, causing heartburn.
Heartburn can happen during pregnancy because of:
- hormonal changes
- your growing baby putting pressure on your stomach
- the muscles around your oesophagus relaxing
Treatment for heartburn
You can reduce heartburn symptoms by making changes to your diet, your habits or by taking medicine.
Change your diet
You can reduce the symptoms of heartburn by:
- eating smaller meals - you're more likely to get heartburn if you're very full
- not eating for 3 hours before you go to bed
- avoiding spicy, rich and fatty foods
- avoiding fruit juices and fizzy drinks
- not eating and drinking at the same time
- avoiding caffeine
- avoiding any foods that regularly give you heartburn
Healthy eating during pregnancy
Change your habits
You can reduce the symptoms of heartburn if you:
- stop smoking – smoking during pregnancy can also harm your baby
- stop drinking alcohol - drinking alcohol while pregnant can also harm your baby
- keep upright - sit up straight during and after eating
- avoid lying flat - sleep with pillows under your head and shoulders
Medicines for heartburn
Talk to your GP or pharmacist if changing your diet and habits don't help you. They can advise you what's safe to take during pregnancy.
The most common types of heartburn medicine are 'antacids' and 'alginates'.
Antacids neutralise (balance out) the acid in your stomach. Alginates stop the acid leaking back up from your stomach. They're usually combined into one medicine, which you can get from a pharmacy.
Important
Always tell your pharmacist that you're pregnant before buying heartburn medication - not all antacids are safe to take while pregnant.
Do not take antacids if you have an iron deficiency or need to take iron supplements - antacids can stop your body absorbing iron.
Page last reviewed: 27 March 2019
Next review due: 27 March 2022
Vitamin D toxicity, also called hypervitaminosis D, is a rare but potentially serious condition that occurs when you have excessive amounts of vitamin D in your body.
Vitamin D toxicity is usually caused by large doses of vitamin D supplements — not by diet or sun exposure. That's because your body regulates the amount of vitamin D produced by sun exposure, and even fortified foods don't contain large amounts of vitamin D.
The main consequence of vitamin D toxicity is a buildup of calcium in your blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause nausea and vomiting, weakness, and frequent urination. Vitamin D toxicity might progress to bone pain and kidney problems, such as the formation of calcium stones.
Treatment includes stopping vitamin D intake and restricting dietary calcium. Your doctor might also prescribe intravenous fluids and medications, such as corticosteroids or bisphosphonates.
Taking 60,000 international units (IU) a day of vitamin D for several months has been shown to cause toxicity. This level is many times higher than the U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for most adults of 600 IU of vitamin D a day.
Doses higher than the RDA are sometimes used to treat medical problems such as vitamin D deficiency, but these are given only under the care of a doctor for a specified time frame. Blood levels should be monitored while someone is taking high doses of vitamin D.
As always, talk to your doctor before taking vitamin and mineral supplements.
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March 22, 2022
- Dawson-Hughes B. Vitamin D deficiency in adults: Definition, clinical manifestations, and treatment. //www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed March 20, 2020.
- Vitamin D. Office of Dietary Supplements. //ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/. Accessed March 20, 2020.
- Hypercalcemia. Hormone Health Network. //www.hormone.org/diseases-and-conditions/hypercalcemiaAccessed March 20, 2020.
- Vitamin D. Natural Medicines. //naturalmedicines.therapeuticresearch.com. Accessed March 20, 2020.
- Marcinowska-Suchowierska E, et al. Vitamin D toxicity — A clinical perspective. Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2018; doi:10.3389/fendo.2018.00550.
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