How to lower blood pressure during pregnancy?
Content
Expecting a child is a great time, but this natural process imposes additional burdens on the body of the expectant mother, so the question of how to quickly and safely reduce pressure during pregnancy is very relevant. But since uncontrolled self-administration of medications is very dangerous, it is possible to quickly bring down the high blood pressure of a woman expecting a child only with the safest soft means that are unable to harm the health of the unborn baby and his mother. Without a doctor's prescription, it is unacceptable to use any pressure medications, even if the pregnant woman has used them before, as any medication carries a potential threat to the fetus and its further development.
Why does blood pressure rise while expecting a baby?
High blood pressure in a pregnant woman usually develops in the third trimester. In most cases, this is a physiologically normal phenomenon, if the pressure indicators do not go off scale, but show only a moderate increase. This is due to many reasons. Firstly, another circle of blood circulation appears and the mother's cardiovascular system works with an increased load, pumping blood through the vessels of both the mother and the child. This situation is aggravated by many factors, for example, the presence of multiple pregnancies, a very large fetus, or problems with the mother's blood circulation that existed before pregnancy or developed during it.
The pressure also rises due to the fact that the fetus grows and begins to compress and displace the internal organs. The kidneys begin to work with an increased load, unable to cope with the entire volume of fluid and its withdrawal. There are swelling, thickening of the blood, stagnant processes in the lower extremities, weak movement of the lymph. And these circumstances also contribute to the growth of pressure.
If a pregnant woman does not move much, the fluids in her body move with difficulty, the heart works with great overload. If a woman also eats improperly, eats a lot of heavy, fatty, salty and spicy foods, gains excess weight too quickly and in large quantities, this greatly affects her health and pressure, in particular.
The health of a pregnant woman is greatly affected by her diet and lifestyle.
The presence of certain diseases and a careless attitude to one's well-being and the health of the unborn child can cause not only an increase in pressure to an acceptable level, but also life-threatening conditions. In this case, folk remedies can not cope, but it can be dangerous.
If a doctor diagnoses high blood pressure in a pregnant woman, he usually insists on hospitalization, since this condition threatens with serious complications for both the mother and the child, up to the “failure” of pregnancy or intrauterine death of the fetus, its birth with deformities and pathologies
It is extremely, deadly dangerous to refuse treatment, but self-medication is no less risky. We remind you that the use of any home-grown remedies while waiting for a baby is possible only with the permission of a doctor if there is a slight increase in pressure and there are no contraindications from other possible diseases.
Non-drug means to reduce pressure in pregnant women
If you use folk remedies wisely and carefully, then a slight increase in pressure can be smoothly reduced without having any effect on the baby's body. If, from the moment of determining conception, a woman follows reasonable life instructions, she may not have to feel increased pressure.
To do this, you must adhere to the following rules:
- To the best of your ability, without overdoing it, go in for sports, preferably with gymnastic complexes designed specifically for certain periods of pregnancy. You can do various exercises literally until the very birth, if the doctor allows and the state of health allows. Physical education strengthens tissues and prevents blood vessels from expanding, which does not allow pressure to rise.
- Move more, do not sit or lie still.
- Keep your body toned by taking cool showers and not overdoing warm baths.
- To strengthen the skin and tone blood vessels, use special products approved by the doctor.
- Eat properly and in a balanced way, without being carried away by heavy and fatty meat foods, giving preference to fish, poultry, vegetables and fruits.
- Limit the consumption of spicy and salty foods - salt retains water in the body and increases blood pressure.
- Do a simple acupressure by pressing with the pad of your thumb on the base of the occiput at the junction of the atlas vertebra with the skull for ten seconds and releasing for the same time. By repeating the procedure several times in a row every day, you can smoothly and painlessly reduce a slight increase in blood pressure.
- Massaging followed by stretching the middle finger of the hand will give the same effect. Massage is repeated in turn on both hands. Manipulations should be done smoothly, gently and delicately, without sudden movements. It is best to be in bed at the same time, since the goal of any massage, including acupressure, is to achieve muscle relaxation and complete relaxation of the whole body. In this state, the vessels dilate, and the pressure gently and gradually stabilizes.
It can be extremely dangerous to use some simple pressure relievers, which are successfully used without any harm in the normal state, during the gestation of a baby. These include steaming the feet with hot water and using mustard plasters and pepper plaster on the calves and heels.
A sharp expansion of blood vessels in the lower body can contribute to a miscarriage or the onset of uterine bleeding, which threatens the death of the fetus. The same applies to the use of too hot water and very long baths. The water should be warm, and the duration of the bath should not exceed 15 minutes. It is best to limit yourself to taking a warm or cool shower - it has a relaxing effect and gently tones the blood vessels, preventing pressure buildup.
If pressure visits a pregnant woman too often, she may need to reconsider her daily routine and menu. Salt should be removed from it, as it retains fluid in the body, contributing to the formation of edema and squeezing of blood vessels, stop drinking coffee, black tea, cocoa, chocolate and chocolates, if this was not done immediately after the start of pregnancy. You can drink weak green tea without sugar, you can add lemon and a little honey.
In the evenings and every time swelling appears, it is recommended that the pregnant woman lie down in such a way that her legs are much higher than the body. This promotes the outflow of fluid and helps to balance the pressure.
The use of folk remedies for pressure during pregnancy
Any folk remedies used to lower high blood pressure in a pregnant woman should not have side effects and require an attentive attitude. When used by a woman, she must constantly listen to the reactions of her body. The slightest discomfort in the form of a headache, nausea, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, the appearance of itching or skin rashes requires the immediate withdrawal of the drug used. Before starting any home treatment, it is highly advisable to consult your gynecologist so that you do not cause serious harm to yourself with your own hands.
Often used to treat high blood pressure:
- various juices from fruits and berries,
- drinks based on them.
They contain a large amount of vitamins that have the ability to strengthen the walls of blood vessels, thereby preventing their expansion and increase in blood pressure. In addition, such drinks are tasty and bring great benefits to the overall health of the woman and the proper development of the fetus.
Among the people, birch sap was considered one of the most valuable means for pregnant women. It is very rich in various minerals and vitamins, it tastes good and perfectly quenches thirst. However, only natural birch sap without sugar is suitable for use by pregnant women, and not canned. There is very little useful left in this drink, and excess sugar contributes to rapid weight gain, which is not good for either the pregnant woman or the fetus.
Other juices that have mild blood pressure lowering properties include:
- cranberry,
- pomegranate,
- pumpkin,
- lingonberry,
- apple-carrot,
- beetroot juice.
All these juices are very tasty and rich in vitamins and healing substances, but they can also cause allergies in a pregnant woman, so you should try to drink them little by little and stop when a rash or irritation appears.
Some juices are very effective, such as mountain ash or beetroot, but they have contraindications. Juice from rowan berries can be consumed little by little, since in large quantities it can cause diarrhea, and beetroot juice is poorly perceived with high acidity. Folk remedies used to lower high blood pressure also include chokeberry or chokeberry. It makes a wonderful tasty and healthy jelly, which perfectly saturates the stomach and tones the veins due to the presence of anthocyanin dyes in the berry. The same soft pressure-reducing effect has tea from the Sudanese rose - hibiscus. It should not be abused, as the flower petals contain a lot of acids and can cause severe heartburn in the mother.
There is no need to remind once again that for a pregnant woman it is important not only what exactly she eats, but also what quality these products are. First of all, this applies to ready-made juices. For the most part, they are made from concentrates, contain a lot of sugar, and even artificial sweeteners, so they are not suitable for treating a pregnant woman. Ideally, all juices should be made from the freshest fruits, vegetables, and berries just before drinking.
Traditional medicine recommends that a woman eat more vegetables:
- different types of cabbage
- beets,
- carrots,
- pumpkin vegetables,
- spinach.
All of them contain many nutrients, as well as such valuable and rare vitamins as K and P (rutin), which strengthen the walls of blood vessels.
It turns out very tasty and unusually healthy dishes from different points of view. Pumpkin can be baked, in the form of porridge or filling for pies, as well as baked with apples. They eat this healing fruit and vegetable mixture, adding honey and grated nuts to it - it is tasty and nutritious, helps to improve stool and normalize blood pressure. If you are allergic to honey, replace it with a small amount of sugar, preferably cane.
With the consent of the doctor, you can drink weak decoctions of medicinal herbs that can delicately lower blood pressure:
- motherwort,
- hawthorn fruit,
- immortelle,
- mint,
- valerian.
It should be borne in mind that herbs are also among the medicines that may have contraindications for use by women who are expecting a baby. Before taking them, you must inform your doctor about this and obtain his consent for their use. Do not risk your health and the life of your unborn baby, do not use untested and dangerous recipes. A simple visit to a specialist or even a phone call can prevent a lot of trouble. And when you get permission, stick to the dosages and never abuse drugs, but food, as they can be harmful if used excessively.
What not to do during pregnancy to lower blood pressure
In order not to harm her own health and the well-being of the unborn child, it is forbidden for a pregnant woman to use the following means and carry out such actions:
- Use medicines for pressure without the permission of a doctor.
- Use hot water for bathing and foot baths.
- Abuse large amounts of liquid.
- Salt your food too much or eat salty and spicy foods.
- Get involved in artificial junk food, fast food.
- Lead a passive, sedentary lifestyle.
- Overeat.
- Nervous and stressed.
By following simple guidelines and common sense, you can successfully maintain normal pressure with a slight rise. If the pressure threatens the health of the mother and child, you can not hesitate for a minute and self-medicate - you need to immediately contact a specialist, and with a sharp jump - call an ambulance. Only in this case, many dangerous complications can be avoided, including such dangerous conditions of pregnant women as preeclampsia and preeclampsia.