You have to remember that heartburn occurs when the stomach acid travels up or refluxes in to the esophagus. In most cases, this happens when you lie down after having a big meal. Heartburn can cause a painful burning sensation on your chest and this can really prevent you from having a good night sleep. Doing so will keep the stomach light and digestion easy. Carbohydrates and starch based food can also help neutralize stomach acid. The fourth is to maintain good posture whenever you eat and after you eat. This way, you will avoid putting pressure on the stomach, which will help in avoiding stomach acid from flowing back in to your esophagus. It will also make it harder for you to swallow and if GERD is left untreated, it can lead to more serious medical problems, such as cancer of the esophagus and even stomach cancer. People with this disease will suffer many sleepless nights because of the pain. As a result, people with GERD will live a lower quality of life. This is because large meals tend to overwhelm the stomach and it will produce excessive stomach acid in order to digest excessive food. Instead of eating 3 large meals a day, go for around 6 smaller meals a day. This will keep acid production in check and eventually prevent or at least lessen heartburn. If you are pregnant, you have to be prepared to experience heartburn as this will be very common. Now, you need to keep in mind that although this condition is painful and extremely uncomfortable to experience, it is a condition that will not harm the baby inside your tummy. But, it is still uncomfortable and you want to control or manage it or at least decrease its frequency. They may recommend drugs containing histamine 2 blockers, proton pump inhibitors, ranitidine, and even metoclopramide. In some cases, more than one of these drugs are prescribed in order to cure or treat a case of chronic heartburn. In rare cases, chronic heartburn may be accompanied by a condition called Hiatal hernia.