Alkaline water is perfectly safe for and even helps in pregnancy, according to fertility doctors. When our body is too acidic, it creates a hostile environment for the sperm and prevents them from fertilizing the egg.
This makes it difficult for women to get pregnant.
By making the body more alkaline and less acidic, alkaline water helps the sperm survive in the female reproductive system. It also ensures that the acidity level in the cervix cannot damage the sperm enough to keep it from fertilizing an egg. This helps women get pregnant.
In this article, we’re going to discuss alkaline water, the benefits it provides for pregnant women, and more.
And finally, we bust some key myths that naysayers propagate about alkaline water and pregnancy.
Table of Contents
What is Alkaline Water?
Alkaline water has a pH greater than 7, though in most cases it has a pH level of 8 or even 9. As you might recall from your chemistry classes in high school, the pH level measures how alkaline or acidic anything is on a scale of 0 to 14.
Substances with a pH level of 0 to 6 are acidic. Those whose pH level falls between 7 and 14 are alkaline.
Anything whose pH is level is 7 – i.e., regular drinking water – is neither acidic nor basic. However, as far as alkaline water is concerned, only >7 pH doesn’t impart it substantial alkalinity.
Alkaline water also contains alkaline minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium, bicarbonate, etc.) and negative oxidation-reduction potential (ORP). ORP measures how oxidizing or reducing a substance is, with a positive ORP reading indicating that the substance is an oxidizing agent.
How is Alkaline Water Safe for Pregnancy?
Alkaline water is safe for pregnancy because it prevents the cervix or vagina from getting too acidic. It does that by introducing alkaline minerals in the body that reduce our body’s pH level. This, in turn, move the pH of the cervix or vagina into the 7 plus range.
Once that happens, an increase in cervical mucus is followed. This is good news as cervical mucus helps the sperm survive the time it remains in the vagina. It is also responsible for driving it into the fallopian tubes, where the sperm would fertilize the egg, resulting in pregnancy.
However, if the cervix or vagina are too acidic, they won’t allow the sperm to survive for 48 hours inside the female reproductive system. This is the time the sperm needs to live before it can fertilize the egg. Alkaline water, then, creates condition that help the sperm survive this long.
Studies show that alkaline water does that by deactivating pepsin, the enzyme that causes acidity in the body. Consequently, with the main originator of the acidity in the body going into hibernation mode, the sperm gets more time to function and do its job.
Causes of Acidic Vaginal pH
- Dietary Imbalance: Is your diet too heavy in fried foods, fast foods, processed foods and sugar? Then it might end up throwing your body’s natural regulatory system out of order, increasing your acidic vaginal pH level.
- Dehydration: Do you fail to drink eight 8-ounce glasses per day? Health experts recommend following the ‘8×8’ rule, even on days when you aren’t feeling thirsty. That’s because a dehydrated body is an extremely acidic body.
- High Stress: Consistent high stress levels, when added together with exhaustion, may signal the body to release stress hormones. These hormones impact the body in many ways, one of which is increasing the body’s acid load.
- Obesity: According to a study of more than 200 patients, obesity is associated with increasing our body’s acidity levels, also known as acid reflux. You’d thus do well to lose a few pounds if you’re trying to get pregnant.
Other Benefits of Alkaline Water for Pregnant Women
Apart from helping women who are trying to conceive, alkaline water is also beneficial for those of you who are in the early (or late) stages of pregnancy. Here are various benefits pregnant women can get from drinking alkaline water before, during and after the pregnancy:
Alkaline Water Fights Free Radicals
Free radicals are harmful substances that are always trying to damage body cells. During a pregnancy, a mother’s body is already weak and susceptible to their attacks. The antioxidants in alkaline water gives the body the aid it needs to fight against free radicals, keeping weakness at bay.
Alkaline Water Helps with Heartburn
Heartburn is a common occurrence during pregnancy. That’s because pregnancy hormones keep the stomach from closing as normal, sending the acidic stomach contents into the esophagus and causing heartburn. Alkaline water helps with heartburn by neutralizing the acidic stomach contents.
Alkaline Water Reduces High Blood Pressure
Pregnant women can have high blood pressure due to being obese or overweight or because they aren’t getting adequate physical activity. Alkaline water can help resolve this issue, as proved by a study carried out on people who regularly drank alkaline ionized water.
Alkaline Water Eases Constipation
An increase in ‘progesterone’ hormone during pregnancy causes the relaxation of your intestines. The resulting reduction in the movement of intestines leads to slower digestion, eventually leading to constipation. Alkaline water, due to the smaller structure of its molecules, helps the body in digestion.
Alkaline Water Helps Ease Morning Sickness
Most pregnant women deal with morning sickness during the first few weeks of their pregnancy due to elevated hormone levels and reduced blood sugar. Alkaline water helps ease morning sickness by keeping the body hydrated, easing the symptoms.
Another thing to keep in mind for pregnant women with pets is that alkaline water is also good for dogs.
Conclusion
Alkaline water is perfectly safe for pregnant women. It might also help those trying to get pregnant by creating the conditions that are required for the sperm to go and fertilize the egg.
Alkaline water also helps ease the symptoms of morning sickness, keeps constipation at bay, reduces blood pressure and helps with heartburn. All these are issues pregnant women face in the first few weeks of their pregnancy. By resolving them or easing their symptoms, alkaline water helps both the expecting mother and the baby.
I graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering and have written for a number of nationally recognized publications in the home improvement space. My skills include fluid mechanics and process engineering and I have worked on numerous projects, including in waste water flow rate calculation and heat balance of steam rollers in the paper industry. My goal as a technical writer is to make complicated topics easy to understand for the average person.
