Discomfort During Pregnancy: Headaches

I never thought that Im gonna experience headaches during this pregnancy.  Mine often starts, stops and come suddenly without warning.  Last night was the worst like something is squeezing around my head, a migraine-like.  Researchers believe hormonal changes are the cause of these headaches.  After all, tension headaches often strike during times of stress and change.

While many pregnant women take drugs to alleviate pain to work at their advantage, I, on the other hand have a fear of taking headache-relieving medications thinking that there are other ways to prevent and alleviate this kind of pregnancy discomfort. First, I tried Head massage.  Lying on bed, I asked my hubby to massage my head, firm enough to put some pressure at some point like temple and neck.  Since hubby was so sleepy and lack some sleep, I just felt the need to clear my mind and just closed my eyes.  It worked after several hours of waiting that I finally have fallen asleep.  And when I woke up, I could still feel slight discomfort that I've read some articles of what might be the reason behind pregnancy headaches.

For days, our family has been experiencing allergies brought about the changes in the weather from winter to spring.  My eldest, having discomfort from her allergies would awaken me at night to give her a lil comfort from itchy throat, running nose and teary eyes.  Any movement that changes blood flow to our brain can cause a headache. While pregnant, uterus seems to have "first dibs" on the blood supply so that the blood flow to our brain is momentarily reduced. As a result, I may feel dizzy, faint, or have a headache after jumping right out of bed in the morning or at night. To supply adequate blood to our brain, ease into position changes gradually.

Another reason is a sudden drop of blood suger that triggers "hunger headaches" which can be prevented by frequent snacking on steady-energy foods, such as complex carbohydrates. I didn't remember emptying my stomach last night, so this won't apply for me.

Instead, a stuffy, poorly ventilated, overheated, or pollution- filled rooms can cause sinus congestion and headaches. For days, the hot weather in our area leave us no option not to open our windows to let some fresh air go through, with these air comes pollen, the number one allergen that causes our allergy.  These and the hot dry weather triggers these headaches which is definitely a nuisance especially at night.

 For other relief of discomfort during pregnancy, check out my OB medications.