During your pregnancy, you’re going to feel quite a few new sensations. For example, it might feel like you have bubbles in your stomach. You may also feel like those bubbles are popping.
If this is your first time feeling this, especially if it’s your first pregnancy, it can be pretty confusing. Normally, those are just your baby’s movements. There are a few other things that can cause the feeling of having bubbles in your stomach while you’re pregnant, too.
In this article
Your Baby’s Movements Will Feel Like Bubbles In Your Stomach
When your baby is smaller, you won’t feel movements like they do when they are older. Instead of feeling a hard kick or seeing a foot poking through your stomach, the movements of a smaller fetus will feel closer to bubbles.
You might feel a tiny burst in your stomach that feels like a bubble just popped. This is typically just a sudden movement from your baby!
Typically, you should feel your baby move by the time you are 20 weeks along. Some may feel movements or bubbles popping as early as 16 weeks! Others might feel them a little later at 23 weeks. It’s common to feel them later if this is your first pregnancy.
You Might Have Gas Bubbles
You could have actual bubbles in your stomach. As the gas passes through the digestive system, it can form tiny pockets of air. These are known as gas bubbles.
During pregnancy, it’s common to get gas more often than you did before you were pregnant. (Don’t worry, it usually goes away when you have the baby.)
It can be hard to tell the difference between a gas bubble and a fetal movement because the two feelings are so similar.
One way that you can try to determine whether it’s your baby moving is by paying attention to how often you feel like you have bubbles in your stomach.
For example, a gas bubble will come, but once it’s gone it usually doesn’t come back. If the feeling is from your baby moving, it will be more consistent.
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How To Beat Gas When You’re Pregnant
Gas bubbles are surprisingly common when you’re pregnant. You might also feel bloated. This can add to how uncomfortable being pregnant already is.
Thankfully, there are quite a few things that you can do to beat gas so you don’t have to deal with painful or uncomfortable symptoms.
Keep A Food Diary
You’re more likely to get gas when you are pregnant. Foods that you tolerated fine before will suddenly make you feel bloated and uncomfortable.
Keep a food diary once you start to feel bubbles in your stomach or have symptoms of gas. This can help you identify which foods are causing gas.
De-Stress Daily
Stress can instantly give you digestive issues, including gas. If you already have gas, stress can make it worse.
Make sure that you take time out for yourself daily. Learn yoga or deep breathing methods. Go for a walk. Enjoy the outdoors. Take the time to truly enjoy life and your time being pregnant.
Don’t Wear Tight Clothing
As your stomach gets bigger, it can be tempting to squeeze into a pair of pants one last time. However, the tighter your clothing is the more likely you are to get gas. Instead, pick up some stretchy pants before you start outgrowing your clothing.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking plenty of water can instantly help you find relief from current gas symptoms and prevent gas in the future. It helps push the bubbles of air through your digestive system faster.
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Remember, you also need more water when you’re pregnant to stay properly hydrated. You should be drinking at least 64 ounces of water per day. You might need more if you were overweight before your pregnancy or during hotter months.
Peristalsis
This is a condition that causes small, wave-like contractions in the intestines. Sometimes, they are so small that they feel like bubbles in your stomach. It’s simply the food moving through your intestines. You’ll notice this feeling when you eat but might notice it at other times as well.
Allergic Reaction To Something You Ate
As we age, it’s common to develop food intolerances and allergies. This doesn’t always start out as nausea, diarrhea, and indigestion. Instead, it can start out as a small twitch in your intestine.
This little twitch can feel like a bubble popping because it’s a quick sensation. If this is what’s happening, it will only occur when you eat certain foods.
Should You Be Concerned?
When you’re pregnant, there are so many things that are happening it’s hard to tell when you should be concerned. If you feel bubbles in your stomach, it’s more than likely nothing to worry about.
However, if they are bothering you or you’re wondering whether it could be something other than fetal movement, there’s nothing wrong with finding out.
Keep A Journal
To determine why you’re feeling bubbles in your stomach, document them. Write down what you eat every day and every time that you feel bubbles in your stomach for one week.
This can help you see if you only feel bubbles during a certain time of the day or when you eat a certain food. For example, if you only feel bubbles in your stomach when you eat bread, it’s safe to assume that they are gas bubbles.
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Call Your Doctor If You’re Concerned
It’s always better to call your doctor over something that turns out to be nothing than not call your doctor if you should have. When you’re feeling concerned, give them a call. This can also put your mind at ease.
In Conclusion
More than likely, you feel bubbles in your stomach because your baby is moving. This is common when you are 16-24 weeks along. The baby is not big enough for you to feel larger movements and powerful kicks just yet. It could also be due to gas, digestion problems, or food intolerance.
