What causes stomach pain and vomiting in pregnant women?

Pregnant women will experience many symptoms during pregnancy, such as vomiting. The degree of vomiting varies according to each person's physical condition. So what causes stomach pain and vomiting in pregnant women?

1. Pregnancy causes sphincter relaxation, resulting in gastric acid reflux. After pregnancy, due to hormonal changes, the sphincter relaxes, and the food we eat can easily come up (the sphincter is located at the junction of the esophagus and the stomach, and it makes the food we eat go down but not come up). It causes the acidic contents in the stomach to reflux into the esophagus, throat and mouth, irritating the mucous membrane.

2. Around 4 months of pregnancy, the uterus enlarges and the round ligament of the uterus is stretched, and many expectant mothers will feel some abdominal pain. In the second half of pregnancy, the baby gradually grows and the pressure in the expectant mother's abdominal cavity also increases. If the expectant mother's esophageal hiatus (the hole through which the esophagus descends to connect to the stomach) widens, she may develop a hiatal hernia and suffer abdominal pain. At this time, abdominal pain is often accompanied by symptoms such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, chest pain, acid reflux, and hiccups. The incidence of hiatal hernia during pregnancy is approximately 30% to 50%, and the symptoms are sometimes more obvious in the late pregnancy.

3. The gradually enlarging uterus presses on the stomach and intestines, causing stomach acid to reflux more easily. In the late stages of pregnancy, the growing uterus also presses on the stomach, and hormones relax the muscles that separate the esophagus and stomach, making it easier for stomach acid to surge up and cause a burning sensation in the chest.

4. Improper diet, overeating or excessive consumption of raw, cold, fatty and sweet foods can damage the spleen and stomach, cause food stagnation in the middle burner, and cause poor Qi movement, resulting in epigastric pain. Or it may be due to cold damaging the stomach, which suppresses the stomach yang and causes a struggle between the positive and negative forces, which then causes stomach pain.

5. Weak spleen and stomach. The spleen and stomach are damaged after an illness or the spleen and stomach are weak, the middle yang is not strong, and the cold is generated from the inside, resulting in the spleen's failure to transport and transform, the stomach's failure to harmonize and descend, and pain occurs. Pain can also occur when stomach yin is deficient or yin is damaged due to long-term illness, resulting in the stomach being deprived of nourishment and stomach qi being inharmonious.