O, Heartburn
How thou dost torment me!
No food is tame enough
to extinguish thy fury.
Ah, heartburn. One of the many joys of pregnancy.
Courtesy of babycenter.com: During pregnancy, the placenta produces the hormone progesterone, which relaxes the smooth muscles of the uterus. This hormone also relaxes the valve that separates the esophagus from the stomach, allowing gastric acids to seep back up, which causes that unpleasant burning sensation.
Progesterone also slows down the wavelike contractions of your esophagus and intestines, making digestion sluggish. Later in pregnancy, your growing baby crowds your abdominal cavity, pushing the stomach acids back up into the esophagus.
Fun, huh? At least I'm not sick too. I'll take heartburn over that any day! But I do miss spicy foods. Babycenter goes on to recommend avoiding caffeine and alcohol since they can trigger it...um, really? Just for heartburn? I'm friggin' pregnant here!
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