During my first trimester, I experienced some of the most earthshaking headaches in my life. Most headaches during pregnancy are caused by hormonal changes and fatigue. Noted that during pregnancy, you can’t just pop any pill to ease the pain away. Here are some ways I discovered on how to relieve your head from that drilling pain.
1. Isolate yourself in a quiet, dimly lit room – I noticed how light amplifies headaches especially when your eyes are also feeling tensed. So stay away from the TV, shut the curtains and shut your eyes.
2. Breathing exercise – sometimes headaches are caused by lack of oxygen. When you are tensed, you don’t breathe properly and to combat this, you must do the opposite. Relax and take full deep breaths (put your feet up while you are at it).
3. Use an icepack – always put an icepack in the freezer for those spontaneous headaches. While lying down (doing your deep breaths) put the icepack a top of your forehead near your eyes.
4. Stretch your neck – remember those morning routines in gradeschool? Gently turn your head up and down, from side to side, and around. Do you hear some clicking sounds? Maybe those are tensed muscles loosening up. Do this while breathing properly. Move each shoulder up to your ear for an even more relaxing strecth. Notice how doing this alone reduces the headache.
5. Call your doctor and ask for a go signal to take a paracetamol like Biogesic – if all else fails and if the headache is preventing you from getting a good night sleep (which is important during pregnancy), call your doctor and get a go signal to pop a paracetamol. My OB allowed me to take Biogesic and in less than an hour, I am relieved of the frustrating pain.
It’s really important to ask your OB first. In the packet of Biogesic it says that pregnant women and breastfeeding moms must ask for advice from their doctors before popping the pill. However, it is one of the safest to take during pregnancy and even for kids.
