Rev Brayo

What Causes Nosebleeds and Headaches in Pregnant Women?

Wondering why do nosebleeds occur during pregnancy? Well, let me give you a comprehensive answer to this question. As mentioned earlier, pregnancy is characterized by an increase in the blood volume. The increase in blood volume is the body's way to deal with pregnancy. A pregnant woman has to make changes to her diet as the fetus gets all the nutrients through the mother's blood. This is the reason why the cardiac output also increases during these nine months. As the amount of blood in the body increases, the blood vessels expand to adjust the increased blood volume. At times, blood may start exerting more pressure on the walls of the delicate blood vessels located in the nose. This may cause the membrane that lines the nasal cavity, to swell up or even bleed.

The membrane can also get irritated if a woman suffers from common cold, inflamed sinuses or allergies during pregnancy. Such infections can dry out the membrane that lines the nasal cavity. A dry nose can particularly make one susceptible to nosebleeds during pregnancy. Women suffering from high blood pressure are also likely to suffer from nosebleeds. As mentioned earlier, most of the symptoms experienced by pregnant women are attributed to the changes in the levels of estrogen and progesterone. The resultant changes in blood circulation may also cause headaches. Pregnancy can also stress women out. Poor dietary habits can cause low blood sugar, which in turn, may cause headaches. Dehydration, lack of sleep, fatigue, tension and emotional stress, are some of the common contributory factors when it comes to headaches in pregnant women.

How to Prevent Nosebleeds and Headaches During Pregnancy

Now that you know why pregnant women are at an increased risk of suffering from headaches and/or nosebleeds, let's move on to precautionary measures that can be taken to tackle these problems. Nosebleeds are usually harmless, and not really a cause of serious...