Passing gas is one of the most common symptoms pregnant women experience in the third trimester but is gas a sign of pregnancy?
Women have to deal with gas and pregnancy in the same time because of the hormones progesterone and relaxin that relax the muscles of the body, including the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract.
As a result it takes more time for food to pass through the tract which leads to heartburn and gassiness. In addition, the growing uterus also puts pressure on the rectum. This makes it more difficult to control the muscles and women can be passing gas uncontrollably.
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The good news is that the baby isn’t affected by gases in any way. He or she is protected by the amniotic fluid and most probably to the little one it sounds like an orchestra.
This means that he or she doesn’t have any problems with you having a problem. On the other hand you should tell your partner that you can’t control it and that he will have to take it for a while.
What to do about passing gas during pregnancy
All you can do in this period is to make sure that you have a healthy nutrition and that you have enough water and fluids to avoid constipation that could make gassiness even worse.
In order not to overload your stomach, you should have several smaller meals. Instead of the three major meals you could eat six times per day.
It is also important to relax during eating. When you are in a hurry it is very likely that you will swallow a lot of air that form gas pockets in the stomach. Tension is also bad for your stomach because it can make you swallow air.
There are also some kinds of foods that are associated with passing gas while being pregnant so make sure you avoid them.
