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Headache during pregnancy: where does it come from and how to get rid of it

November 14, 2020 Likbez Health

Sometimes you just need to get some sleep, and sometimes you need to call an ambulance immediately.

When to call an ambulance

Call 103 or 112 urgently if you experience any of the following symptoms:

• sudden and severe headache;
• consciousness becomes confused or completely lost;
• pain worsens over 5 minutes;
• flies, spots flash in the eyes;
• throbbing and noisy in the ears;
• speech has become slurred, words are drawn out;
• arms and legs weaken, convulsions set in;
• the muscles of the neck are very stiff, it is impossible to reach the chest with the chin;
• fever of 39 °C or more;
• increased heart rate at rest;
• severe shortness of breath;
• the child pushes without stopping or stops abruptly;
• leaking water or blood;
• lower abdomen hurts, as if contractions had started.

Why pregnant women can get headaches

Pregnancy headaches are not always life threatening. But the doctor needs to be told about it in any case. If the symptom appeared for the first time and does not hurt much, postpone the conversation until a scheduled visit. If your headache is recurring or gets worse, it's best to make an appointment as soon as possible. The gynecologist will decide what needs to be done or refer you to another doctor.

There are many causes of headaches. Scientists have found that in pregnant women in 57% of cases it is primary, that is, not associated with other diseases. The most common are migraines and tension headaches.

Everything else is a secondary headache caused by various pathologies. Usually it is high blood pressure and infections. But there are also more dangerous reasons.

1. Stress and fatigue

A pregnant woman's body experiences increased stress, because it has to work for two. If at the same time the expectant mother is exposed to stress, strong feelings or sleeps little, she develops a tension headache.

Discomfort lasts from 30 minutes to several days. The head hurts in the forehead, occiput, both temples. But there is no feeling that they put on a tight hoop or helmet. The pain does not get worse when bending over, walking, or climbing stairs, bright lights, or sounds.

What to do

Tension headache can go away on its own: just get some fresh air or sleep. Sometimes pleasant emotions help, which distract from experiences.

If the pain persists for 2-3 consecutive days, see a doctor. He will select painkillers that are safe for the child.

2. Medications

Any medicine that enters the stomach or bloodstream can cause headaches even if the dosage is correct. In pregnant women, this often occurs due to drugs for high blood pressure, heart disease, antibiotics, anticonvulsants.

Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for headaches may cause the opposite effect: the pills do not remove, but provoke symptoms.

What to do

If your head hurts a few hours after taking the medicine, you need to see a doctor to change the medicine. Do not drink non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for more than 3-5 days. If they do not help, you need to tell the doctor about it.

3. Love for coffee or rejection of it

Coffee can cause headaches during pregnancy. Unpleasant symptoms occur if you drink more than 3-4 cups a day.

Abrupt refusal of coffee is also harmful. It is worth finding out about pregnancy and stopping brewing a fragrant drink, and after 1-2 days, aching pain will appear in the temples and the back of the head.

What to do

Coffee is best avoided during pregnancy. If a headache occurs a day after this, you can drink a small cup of the drink and wait a day again. Gradually, the dependence on coffee will pass.

Coffee drinkers can reduce their drink intake to 1-2 cups per day.

4. Infection with fever

Acute viral (usually ARVI) or bacterial (eg, streptococcal tonsillitis) infections cause fever and headache. This is a normal reaction to foreign microorganisms.

But any infection is dangerous for pregnant women. It can cause fetal defects, growth retardation and even miscarriage. And with meningitis, especially listeriosis, there is a threat to the life of the mother.

What to do

If you have a headache with fever, call your doctor. He will prescribe safe medications or give you a referral to the hospital if a severe infection is suspected. In this case, you need strong antibiotics, droppers to maintain the body and sometimes hormones.

5. Preeclampsia and preeclampsia

After 20 weeks, preeclampsia may develop in pregnant women. This is a disease in which one of three symptoms or a combination of them may appear: high blood pressure, edema, and protein in the urine.

Without proper treatment, preeclampsia turns into preeclampsia. The pressure rises sharply, the head and lower abdomen hurt unbearably, the baby pushes unusually hard or, on the contrary, suddenly calms down. Preeclampsia can lead to placental abruption, damage to the liver and other organs, bleeding, and even seizures. Without urgent medical care, the fetus and mother die.

What to do

When the first signs of preeclampsia appear, the pregnant woman is hospitalized to find treatment. After that, she is discharged home under the supervision of her gynecologist.

But if her health worsens, the doctor again sends the woman to the hospital, where she is prescribed medication to reduce pressure, special drips to keep her body functioning. If improvement does not occur within a day, a caesarean section is performed.

6. Migraine

One of the causes of migraine is a change in estrogen levels. But the disease very rarely appears due to pregnancy. On the contrary, in 70% of women, the symptoms subside dramatically after conception. Nevertheless, migraines torment many.

It may begin with an aura: flashes of light, spots before the eyes, tingling in the hands or numbness of half of the face, sometimes tinnitus. Each symptom can last from 20 minutes to an hour.

A migraine attack develops after the aura. In this case, one side of the head hurts and throbs, nausea or vomiting appears. A woman is irritated by bright lights, loud noises, smells. They make the pain worse.

Seizures last from a few hours to a week or more. After a migraine, there is a feeling of severe fatigue, exhaustion, and an awkward turn of the head can return the pain.

What to do

Any medication for migraine during pregnancy must be prescribed by a doctor. In some cases, drugs from the group of beta-blockers are used.

Studies have shown that frequent migraine in pregnancy is associated with a lack of magnesium. The doctor will help you choose the appropriate type of vitamin and mineral complex and its dosage.

7. Cerebral vascular disease

Hormone problems in some pregnant women increase blood clotting, which increases the risk of thrombosis, stroke or bleeding in the meninges. These conditions are very dangerous: a woman can die within a few minutes or remain disabled.

Vascular involvement is always accompanied by several symptoms:

• severe headache on one side;
• nausea and vomiting;
• blurred vision;
• loss of consciousness;
• convulsions.

What to do

Urgently call an ambulance. The pregnant woman must be laid or seated so that she does not hit when she falls. You can't give medicine! You can only open the window so that there is more air in the room.

Which treatment the doctor prescribes depends on the specific disease. These can be drugs that reduce blood clotting and dissolve blood clots. In some cases, urgent surgery is needed.

8. Brain tumors

Studies show that progesterone and estrogens during pregnancy can trigger or accelerate the growth of tumors in the brain. Symptoms of the disease appear slowly, over several months, and depend on the size and location of the tumor.

The headache may gradually increase, then vision, speech, hearing deteriorate, limbs go numb and convulsions appear. Sometimes it is difficult for a woman to keep her balance.

What to do

If a pregnant woman often has a headache or she forgets what she wanted to buy in the store and how to cook her favorite borscht, confuses her way home, you need to go to a neurologist. First, he will prescribe standard treatment, simple and safe medicines, rest, good sleep.

If this does not help, the symptoms persist or worsen, a deep examination is needed. The pregnant woman will be sent for an MRI of the brain. This procedure is safe for the fetus. If the diagnosis is confirmed, surgery may be required.

What to do if the doctor cannot find the cause of the pain

If you have been examined and the doctor cannot tell you why your head hurts and diagnoses you with vascular dystonia, this is cause for concern. There is no such disease.

Seek another doctor. Perhaps he uses new diagnostic methods that will help to deal with the problem and choose a treatment.

How to avoid pregnancy headaches

Experts recommend:

• Avoid triggers. For example, if you notice that certain foods, smells, or situations cause headaches, try not to encounter them.
• Protect yourself from stress, do not worry about trifles.
• Move more. During pregnancy, walk every day in the fresh air and do special exercises for expectant mothers.
• Eat right. Try to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, dairy products, drink at least 2.4 liters of liquid. Every day, the menu should include fish, poultry or lean meat. And it is better not to buy sweet, fast food and other junk food.
• Follow the daily routine. You need to sleep at least 8 hours a day and go to bed no later than 22-23 hours in order for melatonin to be produced normally.
• Learn to relax. Learn simple meditation techniques or breathing exercises.

Read also 🧐

• How pregnancy develops by week
• How to calculate the duration of pregnancy
• What rights does a pregnant woman have at work
• 7 best sex positions for pregnant women
• How to recognize a miscarriage and what to do next

types of headaches, causes, treatments

A mild headache during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, when hormone levels fluctuate, is normal. Tension headaches are also common, and some women get migraines during pregnancy. (On the other hand, many women report migraines go away during pregnancy!) If you get a severe headache in your second or third trimester, see your doctor right away because it could be a sign of preeclampsia.

Getty Images

If you get a headache during pregnancy, you need to find out what is causing it. Let's figure out what types of headaches are, how to treat them and when you need to immediately consult a doctor

Contents of the article

Do not self-medicate! In our articles, we collect the latest scientific data and the opinions of authoritative health experts. But remember: only a doctor can diagnose and prescribe treatment.

Headache, especially in the first trimester, is common. Hormones are to blame. Some women are more sensitive to the increase in estrogen that occurs during pregnancy. An increase in the volume of circulating blood leads to headaches. You can also get headaches if you cut out or cut back on caffeine.

Other possible causes of headache during pregnancy:

• Lack of sleep or general fatigue
• Sinus congestion
• Allergy
• Eyestrain
• Stress
• Depression
• Hunger
• Dehydration

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If headaches plagued you in the first trimester, you will surely be glad to find that they are significantly reduced or completely disappeared in the second, after the flow of hormones has stabilized and the body has become accustomed to the changed chemical composition.

There are many types of headaches you may experience when you are pregnant, and it is not always easy to determine which one you have. Here are a few key differences:

• Tension headache is one of the most common headaches during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester. It is felt as a squeezing or constant dull pain on both sides of the head and in the back of the head. If you've always been prone to tension headaches, pregnancy may make them worse.
• Sinus headache usually feels like pressure or pain in the cheeks, around the eyes, and in the forehead. It most often occurs after a cold or a respiratory infection. Sinusitis is often confused with migraines. If your headaches have become more frequent, but you are otherwise healthy, it is most likely a migraine. But if you have a stuffy nose, it could very well be sinusitis that needs to be treated.
• Cluster headaches are less common, and scientists cannot say for sure if pregnancy affects their frequency or intensity. Cluster headaches are characterized by sudden, sharp pain, usually around one eye or in the temple, sometimes accompanied by tearing or nasal congestion. Typically, they occur at the same time each day, often within hours of falling asleep, and this happens over several weeks or even months.
• Migraine headaches cause moderate to severe pain, usually on one side of the head. They may be accompanied by other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, or painful sensitivity to light and noise. If left untreated, a migraine can last up to 72 hours and gets worse with exercise and many of the same factors that cause a more typical headache. Migraines happen especially often in the first trimester, and in the second and third, when the body adapts to hormones, they weaken.

Some people with migraines have a condition known as migraine with aura. In this case, the headache is preceded by symptoms that include visual changes (such as bright flashing lights or blind spots), numbness or tingling sensations, weakness, and impaired speech. These symptoms can occur an hour before the onset of a migraine attack and last up to an hour.

Migraine frequency varies during pregnancy. Experts estimate that about one in five women will suffer from a migraine at some time in their lives, and studies show that a small number of women experience migraine for the first time during pregnancy, most often in the first trimester.

There is some good news. According to one study, about two-thirds of migraine-prone women report that their migraines get better during pregnancy (This is especially true if the migraines got worse during your period or started when you first started menstruating). Other women either did not notice any change or noted that their migraines became more frequent and intense.

However, keep in mind that women with migraines are more likely to have pre-eclampsia, a serious high-risk condition characterized by high blood pressure – especially if they did not have migraines prior to pregnancy. Therefore, it is very important to tell your doctor if migraines come on suddenly.

Contact your doctor, he will prescribe you medicines, including over-the-counter medications that can be taken during pregnancy, and specifically for your type of headache. The dosage is also prescribed by the attending physician, and it is not recommended to exceed it.

If the headache persists, tell your doctor about it, he will select other, more effective drugs for you that will not harm either the expectant mother or her baby.

Here are some ways to help relieve headaches during pregnancy: it is often recommended to keep a diary to help determine the specific cause of the pain. The next time you have a headache or a migraine attack, write down everything you ate during the previous day and what you were doing when the headache started.

Some common causes of a migraine attack include foods containing:

• Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• Nitrites and nitrates (often found in processed meats such as hot dogs, salami, and bacon)
• Other artificial sweeteners
foods that can cause headaches:
• Certain types of beans and nuts
• Aged cheeses and dairy products (such as kefir and sour cream)
• Certain fresh fruits (including bananas, papayas, avocados and citrus fruits)
• Smoked fish
• Chocolate and carob (substitute for cocoa powder)
• Fermented or pickled foods (such as soy sauce or sauerkraut)
• Others possible causes:
  • Bright or flashing lights
  • Loud noises
  • Excessive heat or cold
  • Strong odors
  • Starvation
  • Tobacco smoke
  attach a compress

  may be easier for you if you apply a warm or cool compress to the forehead or to the back of the

  Soul

  to some women suffering from migraine, the cold shower, the cold shower is quickly, the cold shower is laid. albeit temporary relief. If showering is not possible, splash cold water on your face. A warm shower or bath can also relieve tension headaches.

  Do not starve or thirsty

  Eat small meals often to prevent low blood sugar levels (a common trigger). If you are on the road, take healthy snacks with you - crackers, fruit, yogurt. Avoid simple sugars like candy or soda, which can cause your blood sugar levels to spike and plummet.

  Remember to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. If you vomit from a migraine, drink slowly in small sips.

  Try not to get tired

  Get enough sleep at night. If you have a migraine attack, it is better to sleep in a dark, quiet room.

  Exercise

  Some evidence suggests that regular exercise during pregnancy can reduce the frequency and severity of migraine attacks and reduce the stress that causes tension headaches. If you are prone to migraines, start exercising gradually - a sudden burst of activity can trigger an attack. And do not exercise if the migraine has already begun, as this will increase the headache.

  Good posture exercises can be especially helpful for headaches in the third trimester of pregnancy.

  Use relaxation techniques

  Biofeedback, meditation, pregnancy yoga, and self-hypnosis can be helpful in relieving stress and headaches.

  Get a massage

  Some women who suffer from tension headaches recommend massage, although it is not clear if it is effective in preventing or reducing headaches. A full body massage (ideally by a physician who specializes in pregnancy massage) can relieve tension in the muscles of the neck, shoulders, and back.

  If you don't have a professional massage therapist, ask a partner to massage your back and head.

  Consider acupuncture

  Acupuncture treatment during pregnancy is generally considered safe, but whether it can relieve headaches is a matter of debate. If you want to try it, ask your doctor for a referral and let him know about the progress of your treatment.

  At what point in pregnancy should I worry about a headache?

  In the second or third trimester, a severe headache may be a sign of preeclampsia. Other symptoms of preeclampsia include unusually high levels of protein in the urine, changes in vision, and liver and kidney abnormalities.

  Call your doctor immediately if:

  • You are in your second or third trimester of pregnancy and suddenly have a severe headache or headache for the first time. It may or may not be accompanied by changes in vision, severe pain in the upper abdomen or nausea, and swelling of the hands or face. It is necessary to immediately measure the pressure and do a urinalysis to rule out preeclampsia.
  • You have a headache (maybe even not very bad) and high blood pressure.
  • You have a sudden "explosive" headache. This is a very severe headache that wakes you up, doesn't go away, and is unlike anything you've experienced before.

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