Pregnancy is full of surprises.
The biggest of course is the little bundle of joy that you are expecting.
Is it going to be a boy or a girl? What will they look like? What will their future hold? Well, along with those surprises come some not so pleasant ones.
Unfortunately, pregnancy often has some uncomfortable side effects like gas pains during pregnancy.
Side effects like this may be embarrassing, but the important thing is to remember that you are far from alone when you are experiencing them.
Though each woman's pregnancy is different one thing is the same for all of them, and that is that your body is being put through a lot of pressure and it is going to react differently to that pressure.
On average the everyday person actually produces somewhere between one to three pints of gas per day.
In fact, you may not realize how frequently the average person passes gas throughout the day.
However, with the onset of pregnancy you may find that your personal gas level might rise.
You may be belching more, passing gas frequently, or you might even find yourself experiencing gas pains during pregnancy.
It is normal to wonder why this is occurring.
Basically when you are carrying a baby your body is producing a lot of progesterone.
This is a hormone that causes your tissues to relax, and this can affect your gastrointestinal system.
Due to the relaxation of the tissue your body may not be able to process foods as efficiently and that can lead to excess gas.
Additionally as the baby grows the uterus starts to crowd your digestive system which can further inhibit the digestive process.
When you are thinking about how to deal with gas pains during pregnancy one of the first things that you can do is to take a look at your diet.
There are definitely foods that can cause gas.
Though it would be difficult to eliminate all of those foods you can easily limit or reduce them.
When you are trying to identify these foods it might help you to keep a journal of the foods that you are eating to help you pinpoint the problem.
However, there are certain foods that are known to cause gas like beans, broccoli, and cabbage.
Additionally, carbonation can often be another cause of excess gas.
Much as pregnancy is different for everyone so is how your body reacts to food.
Given this it is important to pay attention to your own body's signals.
In addition to adjusting your diet there are a few other practical measures that you can take to reduce your body's gas level.
You should try to avoid very large meals, and instead focus on eating several smaller meals every couple of hours.
Additionally, do not rush through your meals.
If you eat very fast you may find that your body is actually swallowing quite a bit of air which can lead to excess gas.
Straws are another culprit when it comes to swallowing extra air.
Instead, skip the straw and enjoy your beverage straight from the glass, but be careful that you are not drinking too much or too fast.
You may also find that incorporating exercise into your routine may actually help speed up your digestive system effectively reducing the amount of gas that you are dealing with.