What can i do to stop spitting during pregnancy

If you're experiencing excess saliva during pregnancy, rest easy: It's normal to have more saliva when you're pregnant, and the condition won't affect your baby. You may have more saliva due to nausea, hormonal changes, heartburn, or certain irritants. Making small changes like drinking more water and avoiding starchy food can help, as well as sucking on hard candy and using mouthwash several times daily.

What causes excess saliva during pregnancy?

It's normal to have excess saliva during pregnancy. Excessive salivation is called ptyalism, or sialorrhea – in pregnant women, it's called ptyalism gravidarum – and the condition won't affect your baby.

Under normal circumstances, your salivary glands produce about 1 1/2 quarts of saliva a day, but you generally don't notice it because you swallow continually and unconsciously. If you suddenly seem to have a lot more saliva in your mouth now that you're pregnant, you actually may be producing more or swallowing less – or a combination of the two.

Some women feel as though they salivate more than usual when they're nauseated. A few pregnant women have so much saliva they need to spit some out.

When can I expect excess saliva during pregnancy?

Excessive saliva is most common in the first trimester of pregnancy and usually resolves by the start of the second trimester. However, there are rare cases where it continues until delivery and may even increase as the pregnancy progresses.

Even in these cases, though, it's not considered a serious condition or a threat to your baby – it's really just an annoyance, especially if you're uncomfortable with spitting more often.

You might salivate more in your first trimester and potentially beyond from:

• Hormonal changes. Experts don't know why some women have excessive saliva in early pregnancy, but hormonal changes may be one cause.
• Nausea. Feeling nauseated can make some women try to swallow less, and this can cause saliva to build up in the mouth. Ptyalism is more common among women suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness.
• Heartburn. Producing more saliva can also be related to heartburn, which is common during pregnancy. Heartburn causes irritation (from stomach acid) to the esophagus, which then stimulates your salivary glands to neutralize the stomach acid by producing more saliva. (This may also explain why women who are vomiting tend to salivate more.)
• Irritants. Certain irritants, like smoke, may also cause increased saliva as can tooth decay and other oral infections, some medications, exposure to toxins (such as mercury and pesticides), and some medical conditions.

Can my saliva predict the gender of my baby?

Although it would be fun if you could figure out your baby's gender based on your amount of excess saliva, but there's no evidence that ptyalism gravidarum is related to a baby's gender.

That doesn't mean it's impossible. Most studies on the pregnancy effect tend to have a small number of participants, so perhaps with more women, researchers might find a trend after all. But for now, it's best to stick with the tried-and-true methods of finding out the baby's gender, like ultrasounds and bloodwork.

Is excess saliva during pregnancy anything to worry about?

There's no evidence that excess saliva during pregnancy will lead to any complications with your pregnancy and your baby, so it's nothing to worry about. But it can affect your quality of life depending on how much saliva you have.

In addition to spitting more, you may have swollen salivary glands, and that can affect your sleep. It may also feel embarrassing to spit or try and swallow more often, so that might limit how much you feel like socializing. If you feel like excess saliva during pregnancy is interfering with your quality of life, be sure to talk to your doctor.

What can I do about excess saliva during pregnancy?

Tell your provider that you have excessive saliva so she can help you identify and treat any underlying problems, such as nausea, vomiting, or heartburn. There may not be much else you can do, although some women report that the following measures help:

• Brush your teeth, and use mouthwash several times a day.
• Eat small, well-balanced meals often, and don't eat a lot of starchy food.
• Drink plenty of water. Keep a water bottle handy, and take small sips frequently. (This also helps you stay hydrated.)
• Swallow any excess saliva if you can. Also, try sucking on hard candy or chewing sugarless gum. This won't make you produce less saliva, but it will make it easier to swallow the saliva you do produce.
• If swallowing your saliva makes you feel nauseated, spit out the excess into a tissue, washcloth, or cup.

For many women, this annoying – and sometimes downright distressing – problem lessens or disappears as nausea subsides around the end of the first trimester. However, just like nausea or morning sickness, it can last throughout pregnancy for a small number of women.

Learn more:

• 12 icky pregnancy side effects
• Stuffy nose during pregnancy
• Bleeding gums during pregnancy

How long does spitting last during pregnancy?

What causes too much spitting in pregnancy?