TheHolisticParent.ORG Aches & Pains of Pregnancy

Aches & Pains Of Pregnancy

There are a lot of aches and pains of pregnancy. Most are tolerable, and there are
things you can do to help ease some of the discomfort.

Back Pain

Back pain is extremely common during pregnancy. Chiropractic care can help in this
area. It is also important to stretch. Keeping your muscles loose will help to decrease
the pain. Maintain good posture. I know this can be hard and by the end of pregnancy,
you’ll probably be doing the pregnant lady waddle. Hold out as long as you can though
and it could end up saving your back. If there are certain situations that exasperate the
pain, then avoid doing these. Ultimately, you may not be able to avoid back pain
completely during pregnancy. I was certainly one of those people, but it typically does
go away after pregnancy. The silver lining.

Hip Pain

This is the painful feeling you may feel while lying down in bed at night or getting up in
the morning. I had this very bad during my first pregnancy, and fortunately, found a
mattress that made all the difference for my second. Sometimes sleeping with pillows
in key places can help. While I was never able to relieve this pain completely, I’ve heard
that yoga, massage, and leg squats can help. It also helps to have your partner push
on them. Stretching did help alleviate this pain temporarily.

Round Ligament Pain

This pain is normal, but it can be really painful. It can be sharp or aching, but either way
it is annoying. It can come early in the pregnancy as well before it even seems logical. It
can even be painful during walking. Unfortunately, there’s no way to get rid of this pain.
It can happen anytime during pregnancy, but is most common between 14-20 weeks.
Rest usually relieves the pain. If the pain is really flaring up, it is a signal to rest.

Heartburn

Heartburn is common and normal. Your stomach is being pushed on by your growing
uterus. The best way to get rid of heartburn is to drink a tablespoon of apple cider
vinegar. I couldn’t stomach this while I was pregnant. Everything would have come right
back up. Instead, I took something called a papaya enzyme from my local health food
store. It helped tremendously, though is not all that great for when you’re not pregnant
because it works in much the same way Tums do, which is to turn your stomach
contents more alkaline. When you have heartburn, it means you actually need
something more acidic. There’s, of course, medications that can help with heartburn,
but who wants those? You can try not drinking water with your meals because it dilutes
your stomach acid, eat smaller frequent meals, and avoid fatty foods.

Muscle Cramps

Muscle cramps are also common in pregnancy and typically signify a deficiency in
calcium. You can find a calcium supplement at your local health food store. If you get
liquid calcium, it is more easily absorbed. Lay off any soda because it leeches calcium
from your bones. This is true even when you are not pregnant. Arnica is an herb that is
good for muscle aches.

Breast Soreness

This is actually a good sign. Your breasts are supposed to go through changes as the
hormones affect your breasts in order to make milk. The soreness usually only lasts a
few weeks in the beginning of the pregnancy, but can come again near the end of your
pregnancy and after you give birth.

Morning Sickness

Morning sickness, ah yes, can last all day. You may be nauseous and only able to eat
certain foods. Seems peculiar at a time when you are supposed to be eating your
healthiest, that it’s hard to get some of those healthy foods down. So understandably
you want to know what relieves this feeling and right away. There are so many
recommendations out there, and everyone is different. I found ginger to be horrific. It
made me gag and feel worse than I did before I had some. Gross. It may work for you
though. I’ve also heard pineapple can be very helpful, though I haven’t tried it myself. I
have also heard you can sip on peach or apricot juice. Small meals are important. My
midwife swore to me that morning sickness is a sign of need for more protein. No
matter how much protein I got, however, I still couldn’t eliminate the nausea. Morning
sickness can actually be a good sign, however. It can signify your pregnancy hormones
are increasing appropriately, and therefore lessens the risk of miscarriage.

Stretch Marks

I know how miserable these are. Unfortunately, they are hereditary, and you can’t
prevent them. The key is to learn how to live with them. I know when they first come, it
seems like a really big deal. It’s really not though. It signifies that you have carried life,
and that is a beautiful thing.

Hemorrhoids

These can be more painful than natural childbirth, and you will most likely know when
you have them. I have heard of liquid lecithin and witch hazel as the most common
recommendations. Neither works too well, especially for more severe ones. Here’s the
best remedy I have found. I must give credit to Kal Sellers of www.kalsschool.com for
this one.

Take the herbs white oak bark and comfrey root. You can use the powder or tincture
form. Mix them with a jar of coco butter (about 8 oz). I do 3 tbs of white oak bark and 1
tbs of comfrey root. Heat to melt the coco butter. Pour into ice cube trays (but not the full
thickness of the ice cube tray or they’ll be too big!) Stick them in the fridge to harden
them and use as a suppository. This works amazingly!

Tired

It is so normal to be tired when you are pregnant. I felt like my brain was kind of foggy,
and I felt tired through the whole pregnancy. If you have extreme tiredness, make sure
your iron levels are in the appropriate ranges as this can be a symptom. Basically,
though you won’t be able to do as much as you were doing before you were pregnant.
You’ll have to slow down a bit and rest more. A good rule of thumb is to make sure you
are getting plenty of sleep and take naps or rest when you are tired.

Empowering Parents to Make Holistic Choices For The Benefit of Their Children

Advertise
With Us
Click Here

Calling All
Birth Stories!
Click Here
To Submit
Yours!

Visit our
Book Review
Blog
Click Here

Download
our FREE
GIFT! The
best money
saving tool
ever.
CLICK HERE

The Holistic Parent.ORG