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Pregnancy and Birth
The most important thing you need to know about migraines during pregnancy
Migraine is a phenomenon that affects about a million people in Israel, with most of the sufferers being women.
What do you do when a woman becomes pregnant and needs to take medication?
Dr. Amnon Musk explains the neurological phenomenon and gives tips for coping
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Pregnancy
migraine
Headache
Dr. Amnon Musk
Monday, 05 July 2021, 07:30
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Pregnancy is a happy time full of anticipation.
It is also a time saturated with physical and hormonal changes that affect every woman, and all the more so for women suffering from migraines.
A significant number of Israeli women suffer from migraines - a headache that manifests itself in seizures with varying frequency that is sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, loud voices and odors.
The average seizure lasts between 4 and 72 hours.
According to the World Health Organization, migraine is the most limiting disease among people under the age of 50 worldwide, and it mainly affects women (1: 3 ratio), probably due in part to changes in the female hormone balance estrogen.
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Migraine is a neurological phenomenon that also occurs during pregnancy and about 25 percent of the women in the world suffer from the phenomenon also during pregnancy.
The good news is that usually, starting in the second trimester [from week 12] onwards, there is a decrease in the incidence of migraines.
This probably happens against the background of the stabilization of hormonal cycles.
However, there are quite a few women who continue to suffer from migraines and even report an exacerbation in the severity of seizures during pregnancy.
The reason for this is not entirely clear and depends mainly on the hormonal processes that take place in the body during pregnancy.
What medications are allowed to be taken during a migraine during pregnancy?
Pregnant woman taking pill (Photo: ShutterStock)
Pregnancy is a sensitive period that should be taken with caution when it comes to maternal and fetal health.
It is recommended that a pregnant woman suffering from migraines report the pain to a gynecologist or neurologist.
There are unique guidelines regarding medications that can be taken during pregnancy, both for treating a migraine attack and for preventing frequent migraines.
In general, it seems that many women will prefer to avoid medication as much as possible for fear of impairing the normal development of the fetus.
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First, it is important for the attending physician to determine that it is indeed a migraine in order to tailor the optimal treatment. In recent years we have witnessed tremendous development in everything related to the treatment of migraines and the treatment options are many and varied even during pregnancy. At the same time, treatments from the worlds of complementary medicine such as massages and acupuncture, or methods of hypnosis, biofeedback and mindfulness can be used. Beyond that, there are new technologies that can be a worthy response for pregnant women who suffer from migraines and are afraid of the side effects of drug treatments. An example of this is wearable technologies that work with the pain masking method.
It is important to note that the possibility of drug treatment certainly also exists during pregnancy and there are drugs that are approved for use in pregnant women even if in different frequency or dose. A pregnant woman who suffers from a migraine can use a painkiller based on acetaminophen that can be purchased without a doctor's prescription and in a limited way with triptans designed to treat migraines.
In the past it was thought that diet affects the onset of migraines, but today the prevailing assumption among physicians is that nutritional components do not affect the frequency or intensity of migraines in the vast majority of cases. It is always right and worthwhile to listen to the body and the red lights it lights up for us, especially during pregnancy. Therefore, even after the attending physician diagnoses that it is indeed a migraine and adjusts the best treatment option, any change in the form or frequency of migraine pain during pregnancy requires a repeated and immediate referral to the attending physician.
Stress and tension do not benefit any man, and especially not with pregnant women. Stress is not defined as a cause of migraine, but it can certainly affect the intensity and frequency of the attack. It is generally recommended for every woman, even women who do not suffer from migraines, to try to avoid as much as possible stressful situations during pregnancy. Here is the place to turn to spouses who can try to create a stress-free environment that will only do good to the mother and fetus.
Migraine is a limiting neurological phenomenon faced by over 800,000 Israelis, and even a million, including pregnant women.
However, today the treatment options are many and varied and there is really no reason to suffer.
Dr. Amnon Musk is the director of the Department of Neurology and the director of the Headache Clinic at Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv.
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