Pregnancy & Heartburn

When my second trimester started I started getting heartburn / acid reflux more often and now nearing the end of the second trimester it's becoming much worse and more frequently, so I thought I should see what I can do to improve matters!

Here's what I found:

• try to avoid foods that are knows to aggravate heartburn, eg fizzy drinks, caffeine, chocolate (?!), acidic foods like citric fruits & juices, tomatoes, mustard & vinegar, processed meats, mint products, spicy and highly seasoned foods and fatty fried foods
• don't have big meals - rather have many small meals through out the day, and eat slowly
• don't drink large quantities of fluid during a meal - instead drink your daily requirements between meals
• chew gum after meals - chewing stimulates the salivary glands and saliva helps neutralize acid
• don't eat close to bed time - eat at least 2-3 hours before you go to bed to give your body chance to finish digesting the meal
• sleep propped up on several pillows - elevating your upper body helps keeps your stomach acids where they belong
• don't gain too much weight during the pregnancy - maintain a healthy weight as advised by your dr
• bend at the knees instead of at the waiste
• wear loose-fitting clothes around your stomach / midsection (something you should be doing anyway!)
• use an antacid that's safe for use during pregnancy, so check before you just use any antacid as some contain aluminium (which you should ALWAYS avoid anyway) or aspirin or are high in sodium
• try some natural heartburn remedies:
• have some papaya / pawpaw, but make sure it's very ripe since unripe or semi-ripe papaya may cause uterine contractions
• almonds may help settle the stomach
• drink a tablespoon of honey in a glass of warm milk (but this will probably not work for you if dairy doesn't agree with your tum)

  I'm gonna try some of these (except the antacids) and see what works! :)