The hormone Progesterone is one of the main causes of more gas and bloating than usual in pregnancy. Progesterone is needed to support you in your pregnancy and higher quantities of it cause muscle relaxation in your body include the muscles of your digestive system. If the muscles move slower in the digestive process it leads to lovely things like burping, excess gas and bloating.
In the later stages of your pregnancy the increases of pressure inside of you can lead to the uterus pressing on your abdominal cavity and this can further slow digestion and cause more excess gas. Often women will they are not able to eat as much in the later stages of pregnancy. Take a look at the pic below and you will see how much the intestines are being pushed up and squashed.
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Body at 28 Weeks Body at 36 Weeks
If you are finding that constipation is also an issue for you this can also in turn lead to more gas!
WAYS YOU CAN REDUCE THE EXCESS BLOATING, GAS AND BURPING
1) Avoid Carbonated Drinks & High Sugar Drinks
Carbonated drinks obviously contain gas themselves to make them fizzy so try and avoid altogether and replace with water (best choice) or other non carbonated minimal sugar options.
2) Drink More Water
3) Stick to Low FODMAP Juices and no more than 150ml of Juices per day (to avoid excessive sugar intake) – you can make the juice half juice half water which will cut down the sugar content by half
Juices low in FODMAP which are less iritating to your digestive system include:
- Grape juice
- Pineapple juice
- Cranberry juice
- Orange juice
- Lime juice
- Lemon juice
4) Get A Check If Your Gas is Causing a Lot of Pain or Excessive Bloating
You could be suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome which is an issue with the large intestine. Along with excessive bloating and gas other symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal pain can be present. There are ways of managing it. Gastrointestinal Doctors and Dieticians Can help. Our Dietician Claudia can offer Online Consults to go through your Diet and help you make some changes. There are also recipe books available with recipes recommended for people suffering from IBS
5) Move More & Exercise
This is one of the most effective things to help with digestive related symptoms. Walking is the easiest way to get things moving in your bowels. We have other pregnancy friendly cardio options listed in our Pregnancy Exercise Module
6) Abdominal Massage
You can do abdominal massage in pregnancy. Follow the following advice to make it effective and safe:
- Find a comfortable position in lying, standing or sitting
- The pressure should be comfortable but deep enough to be effective for gas relief
