116: Migraines and Headaches

Many expecting mothers experience headaches and migraines during pregnancy whether or not they experienced migraines pre-pregnancy. If you did get migraines before you got pregnant you may find that pregnancy improves the severity or the frequency of your migraines. A migraine is like a headache on steroids. We do not know the exact causes of migraines and they are thought to occur with changes in neurochemicals, nerve pathways, and blood flow. This differs from a headache that is often caused by stress or tension, rather than physical changes in the brain. Migraines can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, you may also have your vision affected and see spots or even get blind spots in your vision, and you could have sensitivity to light, noise, or smells. Whether you are dealing with headaches or migraines, this can affect your sleep, mood, your nutrition intake, and overall quality of life. This episode covers diet and lifestyle changes to relieve headaches and migraines and talks about different medications and their safety during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Show notes: http://pregnancypodcast.com/episode116/

Thank you to Zahler for their support of this episode. Zahler makes a high quality prenatal vitamin that has the active form of folate, that I prefer after all of the research I have read on folic acid, plus it has omega 3s and DHA. This is the prenatal vitamin I take and the one I recommend. Zahler is offering an exclusive discount to listeners of the Pregnancy Podcast. To check out the vitamin and find out how you can save 25% when you buy a one month supply on Amazon go to http://pregnancypodcast.com/vitamin/

Thank you to Mommy Steps for their support of this episode. Mommy Steps makes insoles specifically for pregnancy. They have insoles for athletic shoes and ones for flats or boots. You can even heat them in your oven and mold them to your own foot to make you more comfortable and to prevent foot issues during pregnancy. Mommy Steps is offering an exclusive discount for listeners of the Pregnancy Podcast. Go to http://pregnancypodcast.com/feet/ and enter the promo code FEET to save 20% off.