what can I do about headaches when I'm pregnant

Headaches can occur anytime during your pregnancy, but they tend to be most common during the first and third trimesters.
What causes headaches during pregnancy?

Increased headaches during the first trimester is believed to be caused by a wave of hormones by the increased volume of circulating blood throughout your body. Maybe this headache worsened by stress, poor posture or changes in your vision. Other causes of headaches during pregnancy may involve one or more of the following:

• Sleep deprivation
• Low blood sugar
• Dehydration
• Caffeine withdrawal
• Stress (too many changes)

Women who have regular migraine headaches may find that they experience fewer migraines during pregnancy, however, some women may experience the same amount or even more migraine headaches. If you are pregnant, it is important to talk to your doctor about medications you may take for headaches.

Headaches during the third trimester tends to be associated with poor posture and tension from carrying extra weight. Headaches during the third trimester can also be caused by a condition called preeclampsia, which is high blood pressure during pregnancy.
What can you do to treat headaches during pregnancy?

The best way to deal with headaches is to avoid them altogether. Avoiding tension headaches is easiest when you follow these tips:

• Practice good posture (especially during the third trimester)
• Rest and relaxation
• Exercise
• Eat balanced meals
• Apply cold or hot pack to your head

If you are not able to prevent headaches, there are still things you can do to help them leave. During pregnancy, you want to try and reduce your headache by natural means if possible. Pain relief medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen are not recommended in pregnancy most, however, acetaminophen may be recommended by your health care provider.

You may want to try to relieve your headache with one or more of the following natural remedies:

If you have a sinus headache, apply warm compresses around the eyes and nose
If you have a tension headache, apply a cold compress or ice bag at the base of your neck
Maintaining your blood sugar by eating smaller, more frequent meals. It also can help prevent future headaches
Get a massage. Shoulder and neck massage is an effective way to reduce pain
Rest in a dark room and breathing practices
Warm bath or shower

Applying heat or cold to the side of the head, eyes, or in the back of the neck is one of the best ways to reduce or alleviate pain associated with headaches. Heating pads and cold packages come in various shapes and sizes, but most require using the microwave or freezer first. Other interesting again with some of them are hot or cold subsides over time.

We have found a new pain relief system, called SootheAway that provides consistently good hot or cold temperature you want. You can visit our Headache Paine resource section to find out more about Overcome Away.