What Is Dizziness?
Dizziness is defined to describe wide range of sensations like feeling weak, unsteady, faint, woozy etc. It makes you feel or create a false belief in your mind that your surroundings are spinning or moving.
Dizziness o feeling faint or weak is a common symptom during pregnancy. Dizziness is most common in the first trimester but you may encounter or experience it throughout the course of your pregnancy.
Things You Need To Know:
- It is common to feel dizzy during pregnancy
- If the dizziness persists, call your doctor or consult him/her to ensure that this is not due to any other underlying medical condition
- Howsoever normal is dizziness, you should not take it lightly and thus no intense workout sessions should be done, no driving, or handling things that can harm either you or your baby.
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Is Dizziness A Sign Of Pregnancy?
Dizziness during pregnancy is a common thing and thus in the Victorian era, fainting or dizziness was an unsophisticated way to recognize whether a woman was pregnant or not. This is not an accurate sign or symptom to diagnose pregnancy, since dizziness can be caused due to other reasons as well.
Causes Of Dizziness:
Dizziness while pregnant is a common thing and just to maintain healthy pregnancy one should know the causes of dizziness and have th3 complete knowledge so as to cope yup with the complications during pregnancy.
Initially the body is not producing enough blood to fill a rapidly expanding circulatory system since your body has to be prepared to meet the needs of two bodies instead of one. Thus light headedness is likely to happen every now and then during the pregnancy especially first trimester.
Around 12th week or second trimester of pregnancy, as the uterus is growing, it puts an excess pressure on the blood vessels especially when you are in lying position. During pregnancy progesterone is produced in ample amount and due to its high level, blood vessels may relax and widen which increases the blood flow to your baby but decreases or slows down to you, which ultimately result into low blood pressure. This condition is responsible for the reduction in blood supply to the brain and other vital organs which can make your head spin.
Other reasons of dizziness might be drop in blood sugar level or dehydration.
The main cause is the increase in hormones which cause relaxation and widening of blood vessels. This all may happen due to the changes in the body as well as because the body is adapting to the changes in the metabolism. Mostly women who are anemic or have varicose veins are more prone to dizziness and fainting than others. During the late stages of pregnancy, especially the last trimester, if you lie om your back, the weight of the baby is totally on your uterus which in turn suppresses the vena cava i.e. the vein which carries blood from lower body to the heart and thus increases dizziness and fainting.
Since your body is supporting the metabolism of two instead of one, a lot of heat is generated which may also cause dizziness if you wear tight fitting clothes.
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How To Prevent Dizziness During Pregnancy?
Since dizziness during pregnancy is a common problem but even if its common this should not be avoided and various methods can be adopted to minimize the problem of dizziness in early pregnancy.
There are numerous tips that can be kept in mind as a remedy or solution to dizziness during pregnancy-
- Avoid standing for long durations and even if such situation occurs that requires standing for long hours continuously, then make sure you keep you feet moving to help increase the circulation to the body parts
- If you have been sitting or lying, then avoid getting up too quickly, be slow while standing up or changing your positions. This is important especially when you are getting out of the bath or have been sitting or lying for quite a long time
- Be regular with your meals. Don’t dare to skip the meals as your body need the sufficient nutritious diet for two people. Include balanced diet and healthy diet in your meals. Avoid long gaps between meals, keep on eating at regular intervals.
- Avoid lying on your back during the middle of your second trimester so as to avoid the suppression of the uterus by the weight of the body of the baby.
- Avoid hot baths and showers as your body is already producing ample amount of heat which can cause dizziness and other serious complications during pregnancy and problems to the baby.
- Wear loose and comfortable clothes so as to avoid restricted circulation as this is one of the main causes of dizziness.
- If you feel lightheaded, lie down, if possible or sit down with your head between your knees so that blood flow to the brain is increased,which can help to cope up with dizziness.
- Ensure you take good amount of water, since dizziness can be due to dehydration. You should aim for at least eight glasses of water per day and more if the weather is hot or you do workout. Good amount of fluids should be taken or provided to the body to avoid dehydration
- Make sure you get fresh air to breathe since being in a stuffy or overheated confined place can also trigger dizziness. If you feel very fainted, then take a 5 minute walk outside to have some fresh air to relieve the dizziness and also other pregnancy symptoms like edema or constipation.
Although dizziness is common during pregnancy but if the problem persists you should contact your doctor because its not necessary that it is normal. It may be because of any other medical condition too. If dizziness is accompanied by vaginal bleeding or pain in the abdomen, it can a sign of ectopic pregnancy or placental abruption.
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Other problems include dizziness along with blurred vision or headaches or palpitations. Such conditions may be because of some other illness or severe anemia and thus you should contact your doctor for further diagnosis of the problem and treatment as per the requirement of the condition and its severity.
