Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

Is bloating a sign of pregnancy? The truth is it could be, but it isn’t a specific sign.

If you are thinking about bloating and pregnancy you should have in mind a feeling of discomfort. Some of the women say that they feel like a hot air balloon.

Causes of bloating

It may seem like as soon as you get a positive result, your jeans don’t fit anymore. The puffiness is caused by the hormones called progesterone.

This is important for a healthy pregnancy but in the same time it triggers three of the most annoying symptoms: bloating, farting and burping.

This happens because the hormones relax the smooth muscles of the body, like the muscles of the uterus and of the gestational tract.

This way digestion slows down so food has more time to be absorbed. Although this is good news, the bad news is that it leads to bloating.

Bloating during pregnancy

You have to be aware of the fact that the discomfort you are feeling is going to get worse as the uterus expands and presses against the intestines and the stomach.

Although the situation isn’t ideal for you, the baby has no idea of what is going on. He or she is protected by the amniotic fluid and is listening to the orchestra of your gastrointestinal tract.

What to do

In order to avoid such discomfort you should have a healthy nutrition and stay well hydrated. Otherwise you could experience constipation that makes bloating even worse. To make the job of your stomach easier, you should have smaller meals instead of three large meals.

When eating, you shouldn’t be in a hurry. This way you can stop swallowing air that will form gas pockets in your stomach. This way you can avoid bloating while being pregnant.