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Pregnancy and Headaches: When Should I Worry?

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing to be celebrated, but few people fill you in on the not-so-great symptoms that may occur during the journey. Namely, heartburn, gas, constipation and, for some pregnant mamas, headaches.

While headaches can be just another normal symptom of pregnancy, should they ever be a cause for concern?

“Headaches are common in women both in and outside of pregnancy,” said Kelley Saunders, MD, an OBGYN with Banner – University Medicine Women’s Institute. “But whether they are normal or not should always be discussed with your doctor."

Here is some insight into what causes headaches during pregnancy, some remedies to treat them and why your doctor should be kept in the loop.

Is it a headache or something else?

It isn’t always easy to tell what kind of headache you’re having, but the most common types of headaches during pregnancy are tension-type headaches, migraines and cluster headaches.

Tension headaches are the most common kind of headache in pregnant women. It can feel like someone is trying to squish your head like a watermelon. If you carry your stress in your shoulders and neck, you may be more susceptible to this kind of headache.

Migraines are a particular type of headache that occur on one side of the head. For some women, migraine headaches can get worse the first few months and then improve in later stages of pregnancy. For others, they may experience no change, decrease or difference in their migraines.

Cluster headaches are less common but can occur during pregnancy. You’ll suddenly have severe pain around your eyes or temples usually about the same time every day.

The good news is that there are plenty of pregnancy-safe things you can do to prevent and relieve the most common pregnancy headaches.

Tips for relieving mild headaches

• Get plenty of rest. Sleep is especially hard later in your pregnancy but is so important to physical and mental health. Find yourself a comfy prenatal pillow and snuggle away.
• Drink plenty of water. Pregnant moms require more water than the average person. While you may want to avoid extra trips to the bathroom, adequate fluid intake is important for you and baby.
• Eat regular, well-balanced meals. To prevent low blood sugar, eat small meals throughout the day. Avoid sugar, like soda and candy.
• Get a prenatal massage. A full-body massage can release tension in the muscles of your neck, shoulders and back.
• Use warm or cool compresses on head, neck and shoulders.
• Avoid triggers. Keep a journal to help identify specific triggers so you can learn what to avoid. Some common headache triggers include strong odors and nitrites or nitrates.
• Try exercise and relaxation techniques. There’s evidence that regular exercise can reduce stress and boost overall mood. Check with your doctor first before starting any new fitness routines.
• Take acetaminophen to relieve symptoms (as approved by doctor).
• Take caffeine in doses less than 200mg in a day (as approved by doctor).

If you have a history of migraines, however, your doctor may treat them differently during pregnancy. Discuss with your doctor what medications are safe to take during pregnancy.

Is my headache a cause for concern?

Sometimes. Headaches tend to be more common in the first and third trimesters, but they can occur in the second trimester as well. While there are common causes for headaches during pregnancy, it’s important to note that headaches during the second and third trimester can also be due to high blood pressure, called preeclampsia.

“Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-related condition that requires prompt evaluation and management with an obstetrician or maternal fetal medicine specialist,” Dr. Saunders said. “Elevated blood pressure prior to pregnancy puts a woman at increased risk for preeclampsia.”

When should I call my doctor?

Whether you experience headaches or not, it’s always important to discuss your pre-pregnancy history, obstetrical history and concerns with your doctor for an individualized assessment and management plan. However, if none of the above treatments resolve your mild headache or your headaches become more frequent and severe, talk to your doctor to determine the cause.

“This includes new headaches that present after 20 weeks, a sudden onset of severe headaches, headaches associated with a fever, mental health changes, elevated blood pressure and vision changes,” Dr. Saunders said. “It’s important to keep an open line of communication with your physician and let them know about any changes in your health so they can rule out anything serious."

Got questions? We can help!

If a headache is keeping you up at night and your doctor isn’t available, call the Banner Nurse Now line, a free health care service that offers advice 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Call 844-259-9494.

Check out other pregnancy articles on our Banner Health blog

Pregnancy is an exciting, but also a bit scary time (especially if this is your first baby). Here are some other reads to help guide you through the trimesters and welcoming baby:

• 5 Tips for Having a Happy, Healthy Pregnancy
• Expect the Unexpected: How Your Body Changes During Pregnancy
• What To Expect In The Second Trimester
• Understanding Pulmonary Embolism Risk During Pregnancy

Women's Health Pregnancy

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Migraine during pregnancy: what to do

Migraine is a benign disease, it does not affect the course of pregnancy and fetal development. However, migraine and pregnancy is a combination that requires a responsible attitude. Especially with frequent migraines (more than 2 times a week) and migraines with aura, because:

• medicines approved for use, few,

• and the approach to the treatment and prevention of migraine during this period is extremely individual: it depends on the frequency, severity and duration of headache, the degree of impact on life. nine0003

Our neurologist Daria Korobkova conducted a live broadcast on the clinic's Instagram account, where she told how migraine and pregnancy are connected, why attacks become more frequent or disappear, and answered subscribers' questions. The ether was saved, see “Air recording: migraine during pregnancy and GV.

We will tell about migraine during breastfeeding separately.

The statistics of clinical observations of migraine during pregnancy looks like this:

In 60-70% of pregnant women with migraine, headache attacks become less frequent, milder, or even completely disappear in the second and third trimesters. This is due to the stabilization of estrogen levels. By the beginning of the second trimester, it rises 6 times and its fluctuations stop. nine0003

In other women, migraines during pregnancy either remain unchanged or worsen. But as the duration of pregnancy increases, the proportion of such women gradually decreases:

If at the end of the first trimester the frequency and intensity of attacks persist, then it is most likely that migraine will disturb the woman throughout the entire period of pregnancy and after childbirth too.

How to manage migraine during pregnancy?

The main thing here is to learn how to control seizures and, if necessary, seek medical help. nine0003

1. Follow lifestyle advice:

• get enough sleep;

• drink enough fluids;

• eat fractionally and without long breaks;

• rest;

• avoid stressful situations. This is one of the main provocateurs of migraine. Psychotherapy, relaxation and stress management are here to help you.

2. Keep a headache diary. This will help you take control of migraine triggers.

Yes, these simple recommendations are sometimes enough to make seizures less frequent! Pregnancy is a special state of a woman. If in other periods of life we ​​do not take such recommendations so seriously, then in this situation it is worth trying to change the philosophy of life and attitude towards ourselves =)

How to relieve an attack?

1. Favor non-drug methods. Sometimes, in order to relieve an attack, it is enough to eliminate an unfavorable factor:

• dry biscuits, ginger, or applesauce may help with nausea;

• for dehydration - diluted juice or other liquid;

• sleep, walking or breathing exercises can also help to cope;

2. If the attacks are severe, interfere with your life, then under the supervision of a specialist, you can resort to drug therapy. nine0003

PARACETAMOL is considered the safest and can be taken throughout pregnancy.

All other drugs have nuances. For example:

• ibuprofen can be taken in the second trimester, and in the first trimester it is better to limit, in the third trimester the drug is contraindicated for use;

• aspirin is prohibited in the 3rd trimester and is undesirable for taking in the first two, as it can cause extremely undesirable consequences; nine0003

• It is strictly forbidden to use ergotamine and opioid analgesics;

• triptans are not officially approved for use during pregnancy as no controlled studies have been conducted. However, clinical observations of women around the world who took them on their own showed no adverse effects on the fetus. We discussed this issue in more detail on the air.

!Other than paracetamol, we do not recommend the use of any drug without a doctor's prescription. nine0003

When to see a doctor:

• migraine occurred for the first time during pregnancy;

• if migraine attacks suddenly become more frequent and stronger;

• if the aura became longer or appeared for the first time;

• if the headache is rapidly increasing and has an unusual character;

• if the pressure rises during the headache.

Follow our Instagram to read the latest materials on the diagnosis and treatment of headaches!

cluster headache. Rare but painful Holidays without headaches. Real holidays Something about osteochondrosis. An excerpt from the book of Kirill Skorobogatykh. nine0003

Migraine during pregnancy - Juno

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Migraine during pregnancy

How to recognize an attack and deal with it properly - read on. We will tell you how dangerous migraines are and how to get rid of them safely during pregnancy.

Contents of the article

Features and manifestations of migraine during pregnancy

If a woman was worried about migraines before pregnancy, then during the bearing of a child, the attacks are more likely to stop, or become milder and rarer. Improvements come from the 2nd trimester and are due to the fact that fluctuations in estrogen levels stop. In the early stages, the likelihood of migraine is higher. In the 1st trimester, ailments often occur, including headaches. But it's not always a migraine.

Migraine symptoms in pregnant women are similar to those that occur in other people. Approximately the picture looks like this: nine0003

1. Harbingers. They are not characteristic for everyone and may be absent. They occur 1-3 days before an attack, manifest as irritability, depression, or, conversely, a surge of activity.
2. Headache. Very intense, more often covers the temporal or frontal region, has a pulsating, arching character. It can be localized in one half of the head, but sometimes it spreads to the entire head. The pain lasts from 2-3 hours to several days, it is difficult to remove.
nine0005 Aura. It also doesn't happen to everyone. The phenomenon accompanies headache and lasts 10-40 minutes. Patients note flashes of light, spots, flies before the eyes, sometimes numbness of the extremities worries. With an aura, it is almost impossible to do something around the house or work.

Even after the pain passes, the expectant mother experiences depression, fatigue, irritability. Unpleasant sensations continue for about a day.

Why do pregnant women get migraines

The exact cause of the disease has not been established. However, specialists involved in the management of pregnancy distinguish hormonal changes in the body and an increased load on the body during pregnancy among the provoking factors.

General risk factors:

• sudden change in weather - especially for weather-sensitive women;
• stress and depression have a bad effect on blood vessels and the nervous system;
• violation of the diet - long intervals between meals, overeating, abuse of citrus fruits, smoked products and chocolate; nine0008
• overwork - physical fatigue at home and at work, sleep disturbances;
• irritants - unpleasant odors, stuffiness, excessive light or noise;
• fluid deficiency - dehydration due to insufficient water intake;
• concomitant pathologies, for example, hypertension.

The condition of pregnant women is adversely affected by weight gain, hypothermia and overheating. This can also provoke migraine attacks, especially if they have happened before. nine0003

Are seizures dangerous for the fetus

By itself, migraine during pregnancy is not critical. If the seizures are not caused by more serious problems - hypertension, eclampsia, then a woman is highly likely to give birth to a healthy child at term. Migraine does not increase the risk of preterm birth or developmental anomalies in the fetus.

But despite the safety for the baby, migraines are debilitating for a pregnant woman. This affects general well-being - worsens sleep, nutrition, causes stress, decreased activity. Therefore, too frequent seizures can result in problems with the nervous system, fetal hypoxia. It is important to help yourself in time. nine0003

Treatment of migraine during pregnancy

Tablets should be taken only as a last resort. In the early stages, strong drugs are prohibited. First, try to cope with non-drug methods:

• Drink sweet tea or cola. Caffeine in small doses is harmless and can help relieve headaches.
• Take a walk in the fresh air, do simple exercises. This contributes to the outflow of blood from the vessels of the brain and the elimination of pain. nine0008
• Apply a warm or cool compress to the head. It can be a towel moistened with water or a heating pad.
• Take a cool shower (but not too cold). The procedure is useful as a prevention of varicose veins and migraines.
• Relax and sleep in a quiet, dark room.
• Do not hold back the urge to vomit - it can relieve an attack of pain.
• Rub essential oils of lemon, orange, lemon balm into whiskey - just a little is enough. Too much oil can make headaches worse. If you have previously noticed such a reaction of your body to odors, you should not apply this method now. nine0008
• Drink freshly squeezed juice or clean water. Replenishing fluids often helps get rid of a migraine.

If the above measures do not help, and the seizures are disturbing enough, you need to consult a doctor. The specialist will prescribe treatment, for example, prescribe pills that will help to cope with pain. The safest drug is paracetamol. It can be taken on its own. The doctor may prescribe magnesium for treatment - it has a beneficial effect on blood vessels. nine0003

In some cases, ibuprofen and aspirin are acceptable (only in the 2nd trimester). Opioid analgesics and triptans are strictly prohibited. If a migraine is growing or has appeared for the first time, an aura has joined, pressure rises, you should definitely consult a doctor in the near future.

Prophylaxis

Dealing with migraines during pregnancy is not always easy. It is better to follow some rules that will help reduce the risk of seizures: nine0003

• Stick to a sleep and rest routine.
• Control sweets and fatty foods.
• Try to walk every day, do light exercises.
• Massage or self-massage the head and collar area. Movements should be light: it is better if the specialist shows what they should be.

Even if an attack has already happened, try not to abruptly get involved in worries and affairs after it. Remember that you are responsible not only for yourself, but also for the child. Do not be shy to turn to your loved ones for help and do not be heroic.

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