Top 5 Ways To Deal Fainting and Dizziness During Pregnancy

As an expecting mom, you don’t have to worry if you feel frequently dizzy during pregnancy. It is pretty common during this phase to experience dizziness and fainting for a number of reasons. Although it is a matter of no grave concern, it cannot be ignored. Most women experience dizziness during the first trimester of their pregnancy that lasts till childbirth.

Top 5 Ways To Deal Fainting and Dizziness During Pregnancy:

What causes fainting during pregnancy? Here we have compiled top five causes, with their remedies, of fainting and dizziness to help you understand the scenario and take good care of yourself naturally during this crucial period.

1. High Blood Pressure:

The most common factor that causes fainting during pregnancy is the fluctuating levels of your blood pressure during the first four months of pregnancy. A woman’s circulatory system expands quickly during this time, making the blood pressure to drop. Although blood vessels that flow into your baby have opened, they tend to slow down the return of blood in the veins, causing your blood pressure to be lower than usual. This further reduces blood supply to your brain, causing dizziness for a short time.

Facing complications during pregnancy? Get ready help from Gynecologists on Lybrate now.

Understanding Systolic and Diastolic Pressures:

There are two kinds of pressures:

Systolic Pressure: where the blood pressure during the contraction of the left ventricle of the heart drops by 5 to 10 mm Hg.

Diastolic Pressure: where the blood pressure after the contraction of the heart while the chambers of the heart refill with blood drops by as much 10 to 15 mm Hg.

It is vital for you to relax and stay calm. The issues of blood pressure rising and falling are perfectly normal during pregnancy. Your condition returns back to its pre-pregnancy levels either in the last few weeks of pregnancy or post childbirth

Remedies:

Here are few things that you can do to tackle the fluctuating blood pressure

• Sit Down Immediately:

  When you start feeling dizzy, immediately sit down. If you are resting then lay on your side as opposed to your back, this increase blood flow to your heart and brains.

• Put Your Head In Between Legs:

  Put your head between your knees to manage the oncoming fainting. If you have a pre-existing high blood pressure, you may need to control it with medication. Your health care provider should be able to help you with that.

2. Low Blood Sugar—Hypoglycemia:

Another common reason causing dizziness is low blood sugar level that occurs in your body due to changes in your metabolism. Women who have varicose veins may be more susceptible to dizziness as compared to others. Low blood sugar has many negative consequences for your baby’s development. Frequent hypoglycemia puts your child at risk to cognitive defects, hypertension, nerve malformations and later on, diabetes. Hence, it is important to maintain satisfactory sugar levels to avoid development issues in your baby. Hypoglycemic women have infants with low birth weight that causes many issues in later stages. Your blood sugar tends to fall when you delay or skip a meal, drink alcohol, do excessive exercise or eat too little.

Remedies:

• Consume Light Snacks:

  Carrying fruits or whole crackers along with you whenever you travel helps to even out blood sugar levels. Try to have frequent small meals during the day rather than having three large ones.

• SOS Intake Of Sugar:

  The moment you feel dizzy intake the foods that have lot of sugar such as fruit juice, chocolate or a candy. This immediately recoups the low blood sugar which is one of the common causes of dizziness.

Facing complications during pregnancy? Get ready help from Gynecologists on Lybrate now.

3. Dizziness Due To Lying On Your Back:

Lying on your back allows the weight of your baby to press on your vena cava (Large veins that return oxygen- depleted blood to the right atrium of the heart). Supine hypertensive syndrome develops in the third trimester, so when you lie down on the back the heart pumps less blood and you tend to feel anxious and dizziness until your position changes. The weight of your baby squeezes the blood vessels in your lower body when you lie on your back.

Remedies:

• Avoid Sudden Reflexes:

  It is better to avoid rapid reflexes while changing the position from lying down to sitting or standing after sitting. In addition, do not lie on flat of your back while exercising or sleeping. It is quite okay if your midwife or doctor is asking you to do so while examining you.

• Hot Weather And Hot Shower:

  Avoid standing for long in hot weather or taking hot showers as it can make you feel dizzy. You may even faint.

4. Anemia:

Anemia develops due to lack of sufficient amount of iron, folate and vitamin B12 in pregnant women. The fetus requires its supply of iron, which is obtained only from mothers. If you are anemic, you will feel dizzy because your body does not have enough red cells to carry oxygen to the brain and other organs of the body.

Remedies:

• Iron Rich Diet:

  Consume good amounts of diet rich in iron, folic acid and essential vitamins. Iron tablets very often cause diarrhea so it is best to consume foods rich in iron such as eggs, dried fruit, spinach, greens, whole-meal bread, beef and cereals.

• Plenty Of Fluids:

  Drink plenty of fluids as it helps you stay hydrated. Avoid caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee. Water, fruit juices, coconut water and lemon water are good options.

5. Hyperventilation:

Hyperventilation causes increases breathing rate than the regular amount required by your body. This creates a gas called carbon monoxide which makes you feel dizzy. The condition flares up in the first trimester and happens mostly due to lack of physical fitness, obesity, asthma, fever, infection, anxiety, pneumonia, medications or COPD, which ultimately make you lose your consciousness. There is nothing to worry about as it tends to go away on its own post childbirth. Hyperventilation usually lasts for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remedies:

• Practice Breathing Techniques:

  Hyperventilation can be controlled by learning proper breathing techniques. Also, make sure you breathe deeply and slowly so that you don’t hyperventilate as your brain is starving for oxygen.

• Take It Easy:

  Your family, friends and midwife will always tell you to take things easy and this is what exactly you need to do when you are feeling dizzy.

We strongly recommend you to consider the above suggestions in case you experience dizziness during pregnancy. It is also advisable to seek prompt medical care if the condition is severe and is accompanied with new symptoms such as vaginal bleeding, palpitations, sore throat or breathlessness.

Take good care of yourself. Feel loved and pampered by your family and friends. Good luck to all the to-be-mothers!

Don’t forget to share your experiences of dizziness during early pregnancy with us in the comment section below.