Pregnant women tend to be constipated all the time. But need not to worry about it, because it is very common when you are expecting.
Let’s talk about the reasons why pregnant women have constipation and how do we deal with it.
Suffering from having constipation
Many changes occur in the body during pregnancy. Among them, there are many people who are suffering from constipation. And you may be one of them.
Even if you have bad constipation, there are only a limited number of medications available during pregnancy. Therefore, you should not take over-the-counter medications easily!
Please be careful what you take even if it’s medications, especially during pregnancy.
There are other things that can be done to improve constipation during pregnancy, such as not taking too much caffeine, which is good for constipation.
Why are pregnant women always constipated?
Then, let’s take a look at the causes of constipation during pregnancy.
Changes in hormonal balance.
During pregnancy, the secretion of a hormone called progesterone increases. The effect of this is to relax the muscles, which in turn reduces the function of the intestines and makes it easier to have constipation.
Pressure on the intestines
As the weeks’ progress, the uterus grows and compresses the large intestine, which is one of the reasons why you are more likely to have constipation during pregnancy. In other words, having that during pregnancy is a sign that your baby is growing nicely.
Weakness of abdominal muscles
During pregnancy, you tend to feel sick from morning sickness and have a large belly that makes it difficult to move. Therefore, you tend to lack exercise. When your abdominal muscles are weakened by lack of exercise, your ability to expel stool is weakened and you often have constipation.
Try! 5 ways to reduce constipation during pregnancy
Here are the 5 ways you can try to improve constipation during pregnancy.
Drink water
Constipation can be severe if you don’t drink enough water. It is recommended to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, equivalent to 2 liters or half a gallon of water.
Also, mornings are a time when the bowels are more likely to be active. When you wake up, it is recommended that you make a habit of drinking water first.
Review your eating habits
It is important to get plenty of fiber in your diet to improve constipation. Try to consciously eat foods like burdock, sweet potatoes, and other foods that contain fiber. Changing white rice to brown or five-grain rice or changing white bread to rye bread can also help.
In addition, citrus fruits such as mandarin oranges have the ability to soften the stool. Citrus fruits are easy to eat, even if you have morning sickness. Therefore, they are a good snack during pregnancy. You can drink it with grapefruit juice or other beverages.
On the contrary, it is better to refrain from apples if you have constipation because they harden the stool.
Take in lactic acid bacteria and oligosaccharides.
Lactobacillus included in yogurt and other products helps to regulate the intestinal environment. Oligosaccharides also help the good bacteria in the colon.
Lactobacillus and oligosaccharides help prevent constipation, so if you continue to take them even after constipation has been cured, you can prevent a recurrence.
Do moderate exercise.
Light exercise, such as walking, will help the intestine work better. Maternity swimming is also recommended because it uses muscles that are not usually used. You can also do some stretching, such as twisting your body or stretching your abs.
Get medication at the hospital.
If you’ve tried all constipation relieving methods on your own and they haven’t worked, turn to medicine.
Talk to your gynecologist and have him or she prescribe medicines that you can take during pregnancy to improve constipation.
Conclusion
Here are some reasons why pregnant women are more likely to have constipation and how to get rid of it even during pregnancy.
Depending on the cause of your constipation, there are different ways to improve it. Therefore, if one method doesn’t work for you, try another.
