Reflux and Heartburn in Pregnancy

Why the standard trigger list is not much help

Search for reflux advice and you will be handed a list of a dozen foods to avoid: fatty food, chocolate, caffeine, citrus, tomato, spicy food, peppermint, carbonated drinks.

Two problems with that. First, the evidence that blanket avoidance helps everyone is weak – most people have two or three genuine triggers, not twelve. Second, cutting a long list of foods out of your diet in pregnancy has a real cost at exactly the time variety matters most.

There is also a pattern people rarely spot on their own: for many, it is not the food at all. It is portion size, or how late the main meal is, or what happens in the hour afterwards. Changing those often does more than any amount of avoidance.

Is this consult right for you?

It is probably a good fit if:

• Heartburn is waking you at night and you are propped up on pillows.
• You have cut out the usual trigger foods and it has not made much difference.
• You are eating less overall to avoid the burn, and you would rather not be.
• You want to know what is worth trying before you ask about medication.

Book the full Prenatal Nutrition Assessment instead if you have several things going on at once, you are managing a condition such as gestational diabetes, PCOS or coeliac disease alongside pregnancy, you are carrying multiples, or you follow a restricted diet and want the whole picture checked.

What happens in the consult

Twenty minutes by telehealth, fixed price at $39. You fill in a short form beforehand, which takes about ten minutes, so the session starts with your situation rather than with background questions.

What we look at

• A few days of food and symptoms, including timing – we look for the pattern, not just the foods.
• What your evenings look like, and what happens between dinner and bed.
• Your sleep position and set-up.
• How far along you are and how symptoms have changed.
• Anything you are already taking for it.

What you walk away with

• Your two or three actual triggers, instead of a list of twelve to avoid.
• A meal timing and portion pattern that fits your day.
• Specific changes to your evening and sleep set-up for night-time symptoms.
• What is worth asking your pharmacist, GP or midwife about, and what to avoid buying.

Your plan arrives by email within 24 hours, written so you can start that day. If something needs a doctor, we will say so and tell you what to ask for.

Medication, and when to ask

Where we are

Ausclin’s dietitians are based at Mount Hutton, between Newcastle and the southern shores of Lake Macquarie, and see clients in person there. These prenatal mini consults are telehealth, so you can book from anywhere in Australia, including across the Hunter, Maitland, Port Stephens, Cessnock and the Central Coast. See all prenatal consults.

Who you will see

Your prenatal dietitian

Felicity Bull

Accredited Practising Dietitian · Founder

Felicity runs Ausclin’s prenatal consults. She graduated from the University of Newcastle in 2010 and has worked clinically in the public health system ever since. Women’s health is a central part of her private practice, from fertility and conception through pregnancy and early parenthood.

Her approach is client-led and trauma-informed, and she works alongside your GP, midwife and obstetrician rather than around them.

More about Felicity →

Common questions

Where this comes from

General guidance here reflects Australian pregnancy care and the sources below. It is general information, not personal advice, and it does not replace your GP, midwife or obstetrician.

• Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (healthdirect Australia) – heartburn and indigestion in pregnancy.
• The Royal Women’s Hospital – common concerns in pregnancy patient information.
• Australian guidance on medicines in pregnancy – discuss antacids with your pharmacist, GP or midwife.