what is the reason for ptyalism during pregnancy?

Answer 1

Some women feel as though they're salivating more than usual during pregnancy, especially when they're nauseated. A few women have so much saliva they end up needing to spit to deal with it. Excessive salivation is called ptyalism or sialorrhea and is more common among women suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness.

Experts don't know what causes some women to have excessive salivation in early pregnancy, but hormonal changes may be a culprit. Also, nausea might make some women try to swallow less, causing saliva to build up in the mouth.

Under normal circumstances, your salivary glands produce about one and a half quarts of saliva a day, but because swallowing happens continually and unconsciously, you don't generally notice the saliva. So if you suddenly seem to have a lot more saliva in your mouth, it may be because you're actually producing more saliva or because you're swallowing less or a combination of the two.

Increased salivation can also be related to heartburn, which is common during pregnancy. The contents of your stomach are acidic, and when they back up on you, they irritate your esophagus and cause the burning sensation so familiar to heartburn sufferers. The acid sensors in your esophagus then trigger your salivary glands to produce saliva that has an increased concentration of bicarbonate, which is alkaline.

Answer 2

There is no definite explanation for that however it could be somewhat related to effects of hormonal changes. Among the effects of hormonal changes are nausea and vomiting. Normally the salivary glands produces about 3 pints of saliva per day but as saliva is swallowed continuously it is generally not noticed. In the presence of nausea (+/- vomiting), swallowing of saliva is decreased and possibly production of saliva is increased thus ptyalism is the result.

Another possible explanation of ptyalism is probably to neutralize gastric acids.Heartburn is common during pregnancy. As the contents of the stomach are acidic, regurgitation irritate the esophagus and cause the burning sensation as experienced with heartburn . The acid sensors in your esophagus then trigger your salivary glands to produce saliva that has an increased concentration of bicarbonate, which is alkaline to neutralize the acidity.

Also , your saliva bathes the walls of your esophagus and helps neutralize the gastric acid each time you swallow This may also explain why women who are vomiting tend to salivate more.