Can you have tums when your pregnant

About one in 10 Canadians will have a kidney stone at some point in their life, according to the Kidney Foundation of Canada. In general, it is advised to drink lots of fluids and eat a balanced diet to prevent kidney stones. If your kidney stone is caused by too much calcium—the most common type—you may also be advised to reduce oxalates from foods like beets, nuts and chocolate.

Oxalates prevent calcium from being absorbed by your body, causing it to spill into your urine. Which over-the-counter medications are safe during pregnancy?

To be clear, I took a lot of them, up to the maximum dosage of six extra-strength tablets. That amounted to 1, mg of calcium—on top of my prenatal vitamin—on a daily basis in the third trimester of both pregnancies less than two years apart.

The third trimester is when pregnancy heartburn and reflux gets real, as hormonal changes cause the valve between your esophagus and stomach to relax, allowing acid to escape into your chest and throat. As your baby and uterus grows, there is also more pressure on your stomach, which causes stomach acid to back up.

But calcium carbonate can help take that edge off. My urologist and kidney stone surgeon, Peter Vlaovic at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, says the general guidelines are that calcium consumption should not exceed 1, milligrams a day for pregnant or lactating women ages 19 to However, if you restrict calcium, it is also a risk for kidney stones, which seems like a bit of a paradox. You have to get the balance of calcium and oxalates just right. Weinstein notes that taking extra vitamin D, which you likely have in your prenatal vitamin, also helps your body absorb extra calcium.

While kidney stones are actually quite rare during pregnancy—the published numbers are only one in 2, to 3, women—loading up on calcium supplements, including Tums and Rolaids, could certainly cause problems down the road.

In fact, if you have a tendency to form stones, most women get a holiday from them during pregnancy, because the urinary tract dilates in response to pregnancy hormones. Smaller, more frequent meals can help prevent heartburn. It also helps to take your time while eating.

Because of delayed gastric emptying associated with pregnancy, Ruiz says sitting upright for a couple of hours following meals is ideal. But if you must lie down, he says to lie on your right side to promote gastric emptying.

The stomach empties to the right. One simple yet effective tip is to chew a stick of gum after eating. Chewing gum after a meal can help stimulate your salivary glands, which helps neutralize acid. Although heartburn during pregnancy can be a real pain, minimizing symptoms is possible. By changing your diet, staying upright after eating, and using over-the-counter products like Tums, you can get some relief. If you experience any adverse side effects, stop taking Tums immediately and call your health care provider.

Learn about potential problems associated with rheumatoid arthritis and pregnancy, including triggers, preeclampsia, premature birth, and low birth….

Heartburn during pregnancy is a common complaint, and sometimes it's hard to prevent. But fortunately, there are proven ways to get relief. You may experience digestive issues, such as constipation or gas, during the second trimester of pregnancy. Learn techniques that can help. Heartburn can last for two hours or more. In pregnancy, it can start as early as your first trimester and last throughout the duration of your….

A new study finds that epidurals do not affect child development in their later years. A fetal arrhythmia is an irregular heart rate — too fast, too slow, or otherwise outside the norm. For those who need additional help, some prescription and over-the-counter heartburn medications are considered safe to take during pregnancy.

Here are some guidelines to help you understand which heartburn medicines are appropriate to use during pregnancy. As with any medication, get the okay from your healthcare provider before taking these. Yes, Tums are safe to take during pregnancy. In fact, your first line of defense should probably be these chewable antacids made from calcium carbonate sometimes just called "calcium" on the label.

Fast, portable, and effective, they may be all you need to handle heartburn. They even taste pretty good and double as a calcium supplement. Antacids containing magnesium hydroxide or magnesium oxide — like Maalox, Mylanta, and Rolaids — are probably safe when used occasionally at the recommended dosage.

But they're not your best option while pregnant because they also contain aluminum hydroxide. Aluminum can be constipating and, in large doses, toxic. Bear in mind that swallowing any liquid, even the liquid you need to wash down a tablet, will cause your stomach to do what it does naturally: produce digestive juices — including acid, the very thing you're trying to reduce. So it's best to swallow or chew tablets with as little liquid as possible when you're having trouble with heartburn.

All of these antacid medicines work by neutralizing the acid that's already in your stomach and causing you pain.

Chewable and liquid antacids act much more quickly than tablets because they're already dissolved. You can experiment to see which you prefer and what works most effectively for you. If you're regularly taking the recommended dosage and aren't getting relief from heartburn, talk to your doctor or midwife about whether you can take additional or different medications. Remedies containing aspirin such as Alka-Seltzer should be avoided during pregnancy.

Aspirin may be listed on a label as salicylate or acetylsalicylic acid. Note: Sometimes aspirin is recommended for pregnant women, so it's not always unsafe, but in this instance it's not a good idea. Also steer clear of sodium bicarbonate baking soda , which is sold as an antacid in tablet form, and sodium citrate. Both are high in sodium, which causes water retention. And if you're far enough along in your pregnancy to have gone into a panic trying to remove rings from your swollen fingers or looked down in horror at a pair of puffy ankles, you'll understand why that's the last thing you want right now.

If over-the-counter medicines aren't helping enough with your heartburn, you may want to ask your provider about using something more effective and longer lasting, usually called an acid reducer.

Instead of neutralizing your stomach acid like antacids do, acid reducers actually stop your stomach from producing most of the acid it normally would.