Written by Editorial Team
Mild breathlessness during pregnancy is quite common. Actually, shortness of breath is considered one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. While some expecting mothers come up with breathlessness right from the first trimester, some others experience it in the last trimester.
Generally, there is nothing to be worried about breathlessness. Yet, it is best to check with your specialist, because several underlying issues can bring about shortness of breath. This article will help you to see more about breathlessness during pregnancy.
In This Article
Breathing troubles in pregnancy emerge for the most part because of the adaptation the body of the mother is subjected to, for bearing the baby within her womb. The usual causes that bring out breathlessness during different stages of pregnancy are:
The first trimester of pregnancy can cause you to huff and puff due to the below reasons:
The ribcage begins to widen to increase the capacity of the lungs. This is to meet the increased requirement of oxygen for different cells during pregnancy. The expecting mother can feel mild breathlessness during this stage of pregnancy.
Increasing levels of progesterone during pregnancy make you breathe more often. This is because progesterone increases lung capacity. Thus, more oxygen is absorbed into the bloodstream. Apparently, the body has to breathe out excess carbon dioxide – the major byproduct of respiration. This overload of the lungs can lead to shortness of breath.
Breathlessness in the second trimester of pregnancy can be due to:
As the levels of the pregnancy hormones increase, they also cause an increase in the numbers of deep breaths (to absorb more oxygen).
Along with the expansions of blood vessels, the capillaries of the respiratory tract also swell up, making you feel the sensation of breathing hard.
The increased blood volume increases the workload of the heart. Thus, you have to breathe more frequently (even if you are not in any ‘action mode’), for absorbing more oxygen into the blood.
[Read: How Does The Uterus Change During The 3 Trimesters Of Pregnancy?]
Most women experience shortness of breath during the third trimester, primarily because of the:
During this phase of pregnancy, the uterus starts to push upwards pressing against the diaphragm, which then pushes the lungs making it expand less. At this stage, normally most of the mothers feel breathlessness even if they escaped from it during the first and second trimesters, especially if the child is positioned ‘high’ in the uterus. Not to mention if you are carrying twins or more!
Excess amniotic fluid during the third trimester leads to breathlessness. The mother may not be able to breathe properly if she is not in an upright position.
[Read: Excessive Amniotic Fluid During Pregnancy]
As the lungs are not able to expand, to meet the requirement of oxygen, the mother has to breathe faster even if she is taking a rest. This will make the mother experience shortness of breath.
Anyway, towards the end of the third trimester, the mother can be able to breathe easier as the child will drop deeper into the pelvis making its way to this world. This will decrease the pressure of the uterus on the diaphragm decreasing the chances of breathlessness.
Yes, there are some health conditions which trigger breathlessness during pregnancy.
In the event that you are experiencing an iron deficiency, your RBC count (red blood cells (RBC) carry oxygen from lungs to the rest of the body and return carbon dioxide from the body to the lungs) will be low. Therefore, the body has to put more effort to supply oxygen to you and your infant. Breathlessness is one of the vital signs of anemia.
Asthma is a lung disease caused due to the tightening up of the airways, making breathing laborious. Tightening in the chest, shortness of breath, and wheezing are vital signs of asthma.
Pregnancy can trigger preexisting asthma and furthermore, it is found that by one means or another pregnancy creates asthma among moms who have no history of an asthmatic attack (pregnancy-induced asthma).
Tachycardia alludes to an unusually fast heart rate. A pre-existing tachycardia can get worse in the course of pregnancy. It is common the pregnant women to develop tachycardia during their gestation period as their heart works arduously.
Along with all the reasons that cause breathlessness, the growing breasts which press against your chest muscles may bring about both pain and weight in your chest.
It is not uncommon for breathlessness to be even more severe at night. If your infant is lying on the major blood vessel (vena cava), it can prompt shortness of breath. This is the body’s mechanism of warning you that blood going to the heart is being blocked. Due to this, the amount of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream is more than the amount of oxygen, causing breathlessness.
The uneasiness you experience due to this breathlessness will lead you to change your sleeping position, allowing for an undisturbed blood flow.
The following tips will help you to ease this issue:
[Read: Best Bra During Pregnancy]
Towards the last trimester, the uterus bloats up to its most. As it does that, the uterus tends to press against the stomach. If you eat a full stomach, the filled stomach applies more pressure to the diaphragm (than the semi-filled or unfilled one). It can also lead to breathlessness.You cannot leave the stomach unfilled. You have to eat well during pregnancy. Therefore, follow these tips:
As we already discussed above, feeling breathless during pregnancy is quite normal. However, experiencing any other serious symptoms along with breathlessness can be an indication of some serious underlying issues. Therefore, never hesitate to seek medical attention if:
There is no so-called treatment for shortness of breath during pregnancy (if there are no underlying issues). Nevertheless, there are some tips, which may help you to breathe easier.
When you feel breathless, shift to a posture that makes you breathe easier. Sitting or standing up straight will help. These positions offer your lungs more space to expand.
Breathing exercises can raise your rib cage, encouraging chest breathing. Starting early in your pregnancy, breathing exercises will improve the efficiency of both the respiratory and circulatory systems.
Whatever you are doing, let it be just strolling around, or doing housework, take as much time as is needed. Also, react to your body’s signs to back off or give up completely.
This will help to take off the pressure from your rib cage, helping you to breathe in more air.
Practicing yoga will help to have better control over the breathing.
An increase in progesterone causes shortness of breath. It will go away on its own. It is very common.
Yes, it is. As the baby grows, they occupy more space. They will push against your lungs.
No, it won’t. Shortness of breath is very common. It won’t have any negative impact on the baby.
No, it does not. It is a common pregnancy symptom. If you feel your baby is not moving, then rush to the doctor immediately.
With a rich experience in pregnancy and parenting, our team of experts create insightful, well-curated, and easy-to-read content for our to-be-parents and parents at all stages of parenting.Read more.
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