One night, I legit googled When is constipation dangerous?
I barely even had an appetite because my body felt so full.
First, she told me it was totally normal.
Santi Nuñez/Stocksy/Adobe
Hormones and lifestyle changes are the major culprits.
you’re able to partially thank hormones for pregnancy constipation.
(The same thing thats partially to blame for other annoying side effects likeacid reflux.)
This includes the intestines.
When these muscles are relaxed, the GI tract moves more slowly, she tells SELF.
Though some pregnant people may not notice the effects so dramatically, others will.
A few other factors can make matters worse.
Its also likely that your diet and exercise routines have both changed a lot since you got pregnant.
Its a combination of the way hormones affect us and the pretty dramatic lifestyle changes that happen with pregnancy.
(Basically alllll the comfort foods: white flour products, sugar, and cheese.)
The last thing I wanted to eat were fibrous vegetables and whole grains.
And, you guessed it, not drinking enough fluids can also contribute to constipation.
All that finally caught up with me.
It can happen out of nowhere.
My bathroom issues seemed to hit me out of nowhere.
I kind of just woke up one day and realized I didnt remember the last time I pooped.
I felt verybloatedand uncomfortably full, even first thing in the morning.
Forcing it is one of the worst things you’ve got the option to do.
Neither is a pleasant addition to pregnancyor really any time in life.
Straining to poopalso puts a lot of stress on muscles of the pelvic floor, Dr. Paik says.
Straining will further weaken those muscles, which will already be put through the wringer during pregnancy and labor.
This can contribute tourinary incontinenceand fecal incontinence, Dr. Paik says.
Fiber truly is your best friendeven if it comes in powder form.
Luckily, you might totally cheat on the fiber front.
A lot of pregnancy is about survival, Dr. Elborno says.
Thats what I did.
But if the powder stuff in water makes you gag (your aversions could be totally different than mine!
), Dr. Elborno suggests sneaking it into smoothies, or adding otherfiber-rich ingredientslike flax seeds.
Dont be afraid to use other OTC medications.
you might use stool softenersMiralax and Colace are absolutely pregnancy safe, Dr. Elborno says.
It is also something that has been used for a really long time.
Colace, as Dr. Elborno mentioned, is another old faithful constipation medication thats safe to use in pregnancy.
No, youre probably not going to explode.
I was more bloated and uncomfortable than I had ever been in my life.
Turns out, its very uncommon for constipation to become an actual emergency.
If youre super uncomfortable and having abdominal pain, you should probably go see someone, Dr. Elborno says.
It is very rare but there are some people who need manual disimpaction, Dr. Elborno adds.
Meaning, a doctor will need to remove the hardened, backed-up stool from the colon.
Again, though, thats a rare occurrence.
In general, constipation is not so serious, she says.
But also, just because its not so serious doesnt mean you have to just live with it.
