How to Avoid Swelling and Headaches in Pregnancy
I wish I had known as a first-time mom how to avoid swelling and headaches in pregnancy, and that simply drinking more water wasn’t enough to keep me truly hydrated!
It might be impossible to make pregnancy 100% comfortable all the time, but speaking from experience, hydration and proper electrolyte balance is absolutely key to keeping uncomfortable symptoms like swelling, headaches, fatigue, insomnia, and leg cramps at bay during pregnancy!
When I was pregnant with my first child, I struggled significantly with swelling, leg cramps, headaches, and fatigue. I couldn’t even remove my wedding ring for the last three months!
Now I’m pregnant with my third baby. I can’t tell you how much more comfortable my pregnancy has been since I have learned more!
In this article, I’ll share what I wish I knew as a first-time mom—what has made the biggest difference in my comfort levels while pregnant!
Table of Contents
Staying Truly Hydrated
The cornerstone of avoiding swelling and headaches in pregnancy is proper hydration.
But true hydration means more than just drinking plain water. Did you know you can actually accidentally make yourself feel worse by drinking too much water and flushing electrolytes out of your system?
For the longest time I didn’t know what electrolytes were, so in case you’re anything like me here’s a definition!
Electrolytes are minerals such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium—the word “electricity” has a similar root because electrolytes work together to make everything in your body work better! They maintain fluid equilibrium, regulate blood pressure, and support nerve and muscle function.
✔️ Sodium helps retain necessary fluid levels, preventing dehydration.
✔️ Potassium counterbalances sodium, reducing excess fluid retention and thus preventing swelling.
✔️ Magnesium supports muscle relaxation, nerve function, and helps prevent cramps and headaches, ensuring your body has the energy to function optimally during pregnancy.
Swap Out Your Salt
So how can you stay truly hydrated and avoid swelling and headaches in pregnancy?
Switching from regular table salt to high-quality salts like Baja Gold Salt or Celtic Sea Salt made a noticeable difference for me.
Salt gets a bad name in our culture—obviously I’m not recommending increasing your salt intake by eating a bunch of potato chips. But if you’re avoiding processed foods, your salt intake shouldn’t be a problem.
Baja Gold Salt and Celtic Sea Salt are minimally processed, retaining a broad spectrum of essential minerals beyond just sodium chloride, including potassium, magnesium, calcium, and trace minerals.
These additional minerals not only help maintain your body’s fluid balance, significantly reducing swelling and aiding in headache prevention, but they also provide enhanced nutritional support during pregnancy!
It’s like supplementing with extra minerals every time you eat a meal!
I recommend both Celtic Sea Salt and Baja Gold Salt very highly! Celtic Sea Salt became a TikTok trend and the price exploded, so we switched to Baja Gold Salt since it’s a little cheaper.
I prefer these brands to Himalayan pink salt because they are more transparent, I like to have peace of mind knowing they are tested for heavy metals and other contaminants
This is the Baja Gold Mineral Sea Salt I use right now.
One 5lb bag lasts our family of 2 adults and 2 toddlers just shy of a year—and we do use it generously!
Celtic sea salt is extremely well known and a little pricier. It’s actually still a little bit wet from the sea water that’s how fresh it is!
I started out with Celtic Sea Salt but switched to Baja Gold when the price increased so much. Both are very good!
Electrolyte Drinks: Quality Matters
Not all electrolytes are created equal. Many store-bought electrolyte drinks contain artificial ingredients, excess sugars, and fewer minerals. Here’s a comparison:
| Ingredient | Liquid IV | Redmond’s Re-Lyte | LMNT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium | 510mg | 810mg | 1000mg |
| Potassium | 380mg | 400mg | 200mg |
| Magnesium | – | 50mg | 60mg |
| Calcium | – | 60mg | – |
| Chloride | – | 1280mg | – |
| Vitamin C | 62mg | – | – |
| Niacin | 19.3mg | – | – |
| Vitamin B6/B12 | Yes | – | – |
| Pantothenic Acid | 9.6mg | – | – |
| Coconut Water Powder | – | 80mg | – |
| Sweetener | Cane sugar & Dextrose | Stevia | Stevia |
| Cost per Serving | \$2.06 | \$0.75 | \$1.13 |
It’s kind of crazy that you can actually pay more for fewer electrolytes! Liquid IV also has artificial ingredients and preservatives that I left out just for simplicity’s sake.
Redmond’s Re-lyte
I like keeping Redmond’s Re-lyte on hand because I think its a really great price!
LMNT
I keep both Redmonds Re-lyte and LMNT on hand.
I recommend LMNT because they have has research supporting their particular proportion of sodium to potassium. You can read about it on their site here.
I think LMNT is tastier and dissolves faster. I also like the simplicity of their ingredients and that there’s a little more magnesium.
If you decide to get some and want to use our referral link you’ll also get a free sample pack!
Magnesium is Your Friend
Magnesium has been my go-to remedy for preventing muscle cramps in legs during pregnancy, as well as reducing headaches and improving sleep!
Drinking Natural Vitality Calm Magnesium has made an enormous difference in my comfort level and overall health during pregnancy.
I used to drink it every day, it helped me with muscle cramps and energy levels. But after supplementing with real salt and electrolytes, I only need it rarely as an extra boost!
I thought I should also give a shout out to my favorite little glass water bottle!
I try to drink out of non-plastic when I can, and I always drink more when it’s from a straw!
Vitamin and Mineral Support
I’ll preface this by saying I have always aimed to meet the nutritional needs of pregnancy through my diet first, emphasizing foods that I know have the right nutrients my body needs. This third pregnancy though, I felt like I might need something extra just to make sure I was covering my bases.
After a lot of research I decided to take vitamin DAKE and Minerals 101 from Suppgrade Labs.
I know it’s a weird choice, but I am totally convinced that the fat soluble vitamins help help with so many things— including proper absorption of all those nutrients and minerals I’m trying to get.
I’m not an affiliate, I’ve just been genuinely impressed with the high quality and thoughtfulness of these supplements!
They have definitely helped me stay more comfortable this pregnancy, helping reduce swelling, prevent headaches, improve energy levels, and promote restful sleep.
Final Thoughts
By adding these things in I’ve had much more pleasant pregnancy experiences my second and third time around. I wish I had known some of these tips with my first!
I’ve had so much less swelling, headaches, leg cramps, fatigue, and insomnia. If you’re looking to enjoy a more comfortable pregnancy, give these strategies a try!
Focusing on electrolytes and minerals has been just one of many high impact changes I made since becoming a mom. If you’re interested in other ways to optimize your health as a mom, here is my article on biohacking for moms!
I’d love to know in the comments below what you have learned to make pregnancy more comfortable for you! Let’s learn from each other!