What can you do to treat headaches during pregnancy?

The best way to deal with headaches is to avoid them altogether.

Avoiding tension headaches is easiest when you follow these tips:

• Practice good posture (especially during the third trimester)
• Get plenty of rest and relaxation
• Exercise
• Eat well-balanced meals
• Apply cold or heat packs to your head

If you are not able to prevent headaches, there are still steps you can take to help them go away. During pregnancy, you want to try and relieve your headache by natural means if possible. Pain relief medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen are not recommended in most pregnancies; however, acetaminophen may be recommended by your health care provider.

You may want to try to relieve your headache with one or more of the following natural remedies:

• If you have a sinus headache, apply a warm compress around your eyes and nose
• If you have a tension headache, apply a cold compress or ice pack at the base of your neck
• Maintain your blood sugar by eating smaller, more frequent meals – this may also help prevent future headaches
• Get a massage – massaging your shoulders and neck is an effective way to relieve pain
• Rest in a dark room and practice deep breathing
• Take a warm shower or bath

Applying heat or cold to the sides of the head, the eyes, or along the back of the neck is one of the best ways to reduce or relieve the pain associated with a headache. Heating pads and cold packs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but most require using a microwave or the freezer first. Another draw back with some of these is that the heat or cold subsides as time goes on.

You may also reduce the likelihood of migraine headaches by avoiding common triggers of migraine headaches.