“=Distress.=” Another common discomfort of pregnancy is called “distress” by the sufferers themselves, and occurs after eating. It may be neither heartburn nor pain, but resemble both and make the expectant mother very miserable. It is usually suffered by women who eat rapidly, do not chew their food thoroughly or who eat more at one time than the stomach can hold comfortably. This is one more reason for taking small amounts of food at a time, eating slowly and masticating thoroughly. =Flatulence=, or “gas,” may or may not be associated with heartburn, but is fairly common among expectant mothers, and is rather uncomfortable. A daily bowel movement is of prime importance in preventing and relieving flatulence and at the same time foods which form gases should be carefully omitted from the diet. The chief offenders are parsnips, beans, corn, fried foods, sweets of all kinds, pastry and very sweet desserts. Yeast cakes and artificially fermented milk sometimes help to prevent flatulence. =Pressure Symptoms.= Under the general heading of pressure symptoms are several forms of discomfort resulting from pressure of the enlarged uterus (containing the baby) on the blood-vessels which return from the lower part of the body, thus interfering with the flow of blood back to the heart. The commonest pressure symptoms are swollen feet, varicose veins, hemorrhoids (piles), cramps in the legs and shortness of breath. They may appear at any time during the last half of pregnancy and they grow worse as the weeks wear on. [Illustration: FIG. 14.—Right-angled position to relieve swelling or varicose veins of the feet and legs. (By courtesy of the Maternity Centre Association.) ] =Swelling of the feet= is very common, and when very slight may not be serious or particularly uncomfortable. The swelling may be confined to the back of the ankle, which grows white and shining, or it may extend all the way up the legs to the thighs. Sitting down, with the feet resting on a chair, or lying down with the feet elevated on a pillow will give a certain amount of relief. If the swelling and discomfort are extreme, the expectant mother may have to go to bed until they subside, but very often she will be relieved by elevating her feet or assuming the right-angled position shown in Fig. 14, for even a little while, several times a day. But while employing these harmless measures to make yourself comfortable, you must remember that the swelling of your feet and ankles is one of the symptoms that your doctor wants to know about. For this reason you should promptly report to him even the slightest swelling and begin to measure and save your urine for examination.