Constipation is common throughout your pregnancy. You may experience it for your entire pregnancy, or only during a certain trimester, or even not at all. During your first trimester, constipation is usually caused by the hormone changes you are going through. These usually affect your digestive tract, making it slower than usual or even uncooperative. Later in your pregnancy, constipation is often caused by the baby taking up so much room in your abdomen, leaving little room for your intestines to work properly. If you are taking iron supplements, you may also experience increased constipation.
There are several things that you can do to help relieve your constipation. Many of these are dietary changes that are beneficial to everyone, not just a pregnant woman. These changes are making sure you are getting enough water to drink, making sure you eat plenty of fiber, watching the amount of dairy foods you eat or drink and getting enough exercise. If these are not working, then you should talk to your doctor about using an over-the-counter stool softener or laxative. Some of these may not be safe to use during pregnancy, so your doctor may have some additional things that you can try.
One of the primary culprits of constipation, whether pregnant or not, is dehydration. This is why making sure you drink the recommended amount of water, eight to ten glasses a day, is usually the first change suggested by your doctor. Dehydration contributes to constipation because your body will take moisture out of your feces if you are not drinking enough water. Many people drink coffee or tea during the day and count those toward their eight to ten glasses of water. You shouldn't do this because tea and coffee can actually cause you to lose water. If you find that you can't drink water all day, it is okay to break up the water drinking with fruit juice. Fruit juice, especially apple or prune juice, may actually help you go to the bathroom because of the sugar in it. It's a natural sugar and draws moisture into the feces, making it easier to pass. But don't overdo it with the fruit juice, or you will end up with the opposite of constipation, diarrhea.
Another home remedy for constipation is to increase the amount of fiber in your diet. This can be accomplished easily; all you have to do is increase the amount of vegetables and fruits in your diet and switch to whole grain breads. If you can't make these simple changes, there is another way to increase your fiber. You can start taking a fiber supplement, such as Metamucil, or there are new fiber additives for your food. Both of these are good ways to increase your fiber. Keep in mind though, when you increase fiber you need to increase the amount of water you drink as well because fiber absorbs a lot of water.
Too much iron or calcium can also cause constipation. Both of these minerals draw water from the feces, causing it to harden and be difficult to pass. An easy way to reduce the risk of this happening is to only eat or drink the recommended daily servings of dairy products (many people's main source of calcium) and reduce your iron intake if it exceeds 30 mg per day. Many iron supplements exceed this, so talk to your doctor about the best way to get sufficient iron without overdoing it.
Exercise has been shown to stimulate bowel movements, thus decreasing the risk of developing constipation. Many people have a bowel movement shortly after exercising because the physical activity gets your lower intestine working, causing a bowel movement. Many doctors recommend pregnant women start exercising slowly, start with a 20 to 30-minute walk twice a week and gradually increase it to a 20 to 30-minute walk every day. There are also other exercises that you can do to help relieve constipation and ones perfect for pregnant women are swimming, yoga and riding an exercise bike.
One of the easiest ways to relieve constipation is also one of the hardest habits to break. We've all felt the urge to go to the bathroom, but have put it off to get a little more work done. By the time we remember that we had to go to the bathroom, the urge has passed and many people don't go. This causes the feces to sit in the intestine longer, causing the body to withdraw even more moisture. This makes the feces hard and more difficult to pass. Sometimes you can't help but wait. When this happens, make sure you go to the bathroom as soon as possible.
If none of these suggestions have helped you, talk to your doctor. He or she will be able to tell you what stool softeners are safe for you to take while pregnant. Never take any laxatives or herbal supplements while pregnant without talking to your doctor first because these are absorbed by the body and can be passed on to your baby, with some bad side effects.
