Meals to help heartburn & indigestion

[GothicRainbow]

I'm 19 weeks pregnant and heartburn and indigestion have kicked in big time for me - I'm so uncomfy!

Does anyone have any meal ideas (for one - DH is a very fussy eater!) that would help me???

[Notoedike]

Bread/wheat products makes my heartburn go crazy.

[GothicRainbow]

So we went out today and got a second hand glider chair that will now be in our bedroom so if it's bad in the night I will have somewhere comfy(ish) to doze.

Augusta thank you for the cookbook recommendation and all the advice, my DS (2.5) suffers with reflux and I do all the above for him but it never even crossed my mind to apply it to myself!

The bending down is really tough Jobrum and I'm not even that big yet. I have to do a lot of it during the day - mainly picking up toys, books, helping my toddler with things and it's really not pleasant - definitely not looking forward to getting bigger!

[jobrum]

No recipes, but you might want to think about rearranging the kichen so as little as possible is low down. I know (having a very small kitchen) its not practical but even if you just make sure that things you freque tly snack on and the toaster, a small saucepan, chopping board etc are at a level where you do not need to bend down it will help, especially as you get bigger.

I suffered from awful heartburn and the acid made me quite sick if I bent over too much - I was sick on our poor cat when trying to get food inro her bowl! Keep Gaviscon by your bed.

[AugustaHill]

This cookbook is good.

Basically
Avoid caffeine, alcohol and mint as they relax the valve between your stomach and oesophagus...you're probably doing a lot of that anyway as you're pregnant but caffeine does include chocolate unfortunately.
Avoid fizzy/carbonated inks as these increase the pressure in your stomach and make reflux more likely.
Avoid deep fried food, spices/hot food, peppers, onions/garlic/shallots/chives, citrus fruits, pineapple and other acidic fruits, vinegar, twice cooked meat or cheese (e.g. reheated leftovers), sugary food as these are difficult to digest and/or increase the acidity in your stomach.

Also think about getting a bed wedge pillow, or putting the top feet of your bed up on bricks. The idea is to raise your head 6-8 inches about your tummy. Pillows don't work, you need a gradually inclined plane to lie on. Take naps sitting up if you can.

Also, don't eat or drink for 3 hours before lying down/sleeping, wait an hour after getting up to eat and eat small amounts frequently rather than infrequent large meals. Keeping meals simple e.g. 2 or 3 ingredients, not 20 can also help (e.g. piece of fish, some rice, some salad, some chicken, baked potato and a vegetable).

[SealSong]

Avoid sugary and fatty foods, and be wary of spicy food. So things that are steamed, grilled, boiled or baked should be ok....something like griddled chicken breast or fish, steamed vegetables and a few new potatoes shouldn't cause you any problems.
Peppermint tea is brilliant also.

[BabyGanoush]

Look after yourself

Mine was so bad I could not even lie down, had to see gastroenterologist for meds, as my oesophagus was burning away.

Ahhhh the joys of pregnancy

Basically you want easily digestible food. i had to cut out peppers and raw onion too. And takeaway stuff

But custard, yoghurt and ice cream were fine

[GothicRainbow]

Thanks so much - it's making me feel proper rough. I still haven't eaten yet tonight as I can't quite face it. Bad planning in terms of going to bed but DH will be getting up with our DS so might grab a lay in!

[BabyGanoush]

And avoid fresh bread!

Yeast sets if heartburn (said my gastroenterologist)

Stale bread or toast fine though

[BabyGanoush]

I had this badly

Rice with vegetables
Noodles in broth
Steamed fish and mash
Vegetable soup

Avoid fatty/rich/deep fried and spicy

And if your H wants greasy stuff he can prepare if himself

This level of heartburn is hell

[overthemill]

Not meals as such but ginger really helped me plus very stodgy things like mash, jacket potatoes, chips. Not at all healthy I'm afraid. Just plain things that soothed and ginger: tea, cordial, beer, in stir fries, crystallised any way it comes!