Breathlessness in pregnancy: natural remedies

Breathlessness during pregnancy is a very common concern, something you may experience a little in your first trimester, but mostly in the last trimester.

While you may feel uncomfortable and even alarmed about why it happens, feeling short of breath during the last months of your pregnancy is a very normal condition. There is no medicine that will help to get your breathing back to normal, unless of course it is due to any other health condition you already have.

In such a situation, your doctor will guide you on what can work best for you.

Natural remedies are a great way to take care of most of your health concerns when you are pregnant. These will not have any side effects on you or your unborn baby, and almost always will give you the desired results.

However, while these are all safe natural remedies, we would recommend you speak to your doctor and then proceed, as every pregnancy is unique and special. Once you have the go-ahead, you can try the following to help ease your breathlessness during pregnancy.

2 simple steps to ease breathlessness in pregnancy

1. Simple mouth breathing exercise:

An easy way to get your breathing back to its normal pace is to try out this very simple breathing exercise that involves the mouth.

1. Sit down comfortably and relax.
2. Try to take in one or two deep breaths through the nose.
3. Make an ‘O’ with your lips and slowly breathe out.
4. If you are not able to breathe in through your nose initially, do so with your mouth.
5. Repeat a few times, till you feel your breathing is more regulated.

2. Eat beetroot

Some women experience more shortness of breathing during pregnancy as a result of iron deficiency. This is also a very common condition in pregnancy. Eating beetroot can help improve your blood count, as it is naturally high in iron content. Beetroot also has enough fibre, calcium and a host of vitamins, which will be good for your and baby’s overall health.

Here are a few more things you can try that can ease your discomfort.

1. Stand next to an open window or your balcony and practice deep breathing.
2. Sit down on a chair, bend slightly ahead, place your hands on your side and breathe slowly.
3. Have a cup of ginger tea to ease any nasal congestion.