Of all the pregnancy symptoms, bloating can be the most awkward. These symptoms are generally caused by the increased levels of progesterone and other hormones during early pregnancy.
Although progesterone is vital for maintaining a healthy pregnancy, it can also cause digestive problems.
Progesterone relaxes the smooth muscle tissue throughout your body, including the tissue in your digestive tract. This helps to slow down digestion and ensure that the nutrients you consume have plenty of time to enter your bloodstream and reach your baby.
Lets discuss the causes of bloating in early pregnancy;
Air can build up in your body, in addition to high progesterone levels in early pregnancy, simple things like swallowing, nausea, intolerances and certain foods can also cause wind and bloating.
Wind can get caught up in your digestive tract if you swallow air from eating too quickly, some pregnant women also get bloated from eating certain foods that they are insensitive to.
Below are some foods that could actually produce high levels of gas.
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Legumes and beans
- Onions
- Wheat and oat bran
A major way to avoid bloating is to watch what you eat, or better still when you eat certain foods and you realise you are getting bloated, reduce your intake.
Below are some gugidelines to reduce bloating in pregnancy:
Eat smaller meals more often.
Exercise During Pregnancy
Stop Chewing Gum
