Acid reflux is no fun

"Of late, I have had a not so great feeling in my throat. It's not constant, thank goodness, but when present it is not enjoyable. I tried to explain this feeling to people: a slight burning, a feeling that something is lodged in my throat, and an upset stomach. Everyone told me that acid reflux is like heartburn, and you feel it in your upper chest. I've discovered this isn't always true; my doctor said that what I was feeling was in fact acid reflux.

Pregnant women are prone to acid reflux, because during pregnancy a woman's internal organs get pushed upward (or downward) by the growing uterus. This places added pressure on the lungs, stomach, intestines, bladder, etc., and results in occasional shortness of breath, or smaller but more frequent eating, or other not so fun adjustments the body has to cope with.

In the case of the stomach, which is where acid reflux begins, it gets pushed upward, leaving it little space to expand or relax. Because it is smaller, food has to be taken in more frequently (as I mentioned above) but also, the food stays in the stomach longer. This has something to do with how the digestion slows down to get the most nutrients to the baby, and because of the new scrunched location. The last bit of changing the stomach goes through that can cause problems is that the sphincter (laugh all you want) between the stomach and esophagus loosens up, making it easier for food and acid to move back up. All of these changes work together to produce a lovely burning sensation in the esophagus.

When I visited Becky while in Portland for work, she got to see my acid reflux in full force... literally. It wasn't so pretty. And it was actually much more painful than I expected. Luckily, I've learned since then that the solution is simple: Tums!"
--Clare, 10/20/05