Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GORD) in Pregnancy

🔍 When to Suspect

A pregnant woman presenting with heartburn (a burning chest sensation) and/or acid regurgitation, often worse after eating, at night, or when lying down

From the full topic in The Ocean Library: Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GORD) in Pregnancy

🧭 When to suspect

Suspect gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) in any pregnant woman describing:

• Heartburn (a retrosternal burning sensation)

• Acid regurgitation into the throat or mouth

• Epigastric discomfort

It is one of the commonest complaints of pregnancy, affecting up to 80% of women and tending to worsen through the third trimester.

Two things drive it:

• Progesterone relaxes the lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) – the muscular valve that normally keeps stomach contents down

• The growing uterus raises intra-abdominal pressure and slows gastric emptying

Symptoms are therefore typically worse after meals, on lying flat, and at night.

Your two jobs:

• Control the symptoms with a safe, stepped approach

• Never mistake the epigastric pain of pre-eclampsia for simple indigestion – the point that matters most. New upper-abdominal pain in the second half of pregnancy must prompt a blood pressure and urine check before it is labelled reflux.

Source: NICE NG201 · NICE NG133

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