If you do not get rid of your waste substances, it can result in pronounced tiredness, headache, uneasiness, haemorrhoids, stomach pain, nausea, and even muscular pain.
If you plan on becoming pregnant and suffer from constipation, it is a good idea to implement some good prophylactic routines even before pregnancy. Then, once you become pregnant, your stomach will have a much easier job keeping itself in good shape during pregancy.
What is the cause of constipation during pregnancy and what to do about it?
There can be several reasons for a sluggish digestion during pregnancy:
- Hormonal changes during pregnancy will result in your intestinal motility being reduced.
- Altered dietary habits with too few wholemeal products and too many unhealthy products. Your dietary habits and your appetite may have changed and you might have a craving for more sweet food or other kinds of easily digestible food in which the content of fibre is not very large. You might also be craving something completely different that your stomach is not at all used to.
- Too little fluid-intake. You need more fluid than normal during pregnancy and many pregnant women drink far too little.
- Not enough physical activity: You might not be moving around as much as normal on account of nausea and uneasiness, a growing stomach, and the fact that you get short of breath more easily - not to mention possible pains in your back and pelvis.
- Mechanical pressure on your intestines caused by the baby squeezing your intestines resulting in reduced motility.
- Iron supplements which are recommended from pregnancy week 20 as it is difficult to be sure that you get enough iron through your diet.
- Low metabolic rate - however, this is not particularly related to pregnancy.
The good old household remedies against constipation still apply:
Eat a lot of fruit - e.g. dates and figs - and eat lots of vegetables. If your stomach cannot hold very much, you should eat frequent but small meals during the day. Have an apple, a carrot, or a pear. Eat coarse and fibre-rich food - for breakfast, you could have oatmeal-, buckwheat-, or millet porridge. Müesli or wholemeal bread is also good.
Drink a couple of litres of water a day; preferably pure water or diluted fruit juice. Preferably avoid coffe, or at least reduce your consumption to 1 - 2 cups of coffee a day if you cannot do without it. Both strong coffee and strong tea have diuretic effects and can therefore cause constipation as they drain your body of fluid. Coffee very well might get your stomach back in order, but in the long run your intestines will become dependent on the coffee and reduced motility will be the result.
An often overlooked thing of great significance is lactic acid bacteria. The natural bacteria in the intestines are the Alpha and Omega of a well-functioning digestion. A bowl of organic yoghurt or other kind of curdled milk product will provide your stomach with beneficial bacteria. Choose natural yoghurt without any other additions (such as fruits, for example, as they often contain a great deal of sugar).
Exercising strengthens your intestinal motility and digestion. Exercise could be going for a brisk walk, swimming, or biking. Going for a walk once a day can do wonders for your whole organism. A sedentary job can also result in constipation. If you have trouble carrying out these forms of exercise, you can do yoga or tai chi or some other kind of gentle exercise which also stimulates your intestines.
Your body works best with fixed rhythms. Choose a time of day with peace and quiet - preferably after a meal - and give yourself some time. Take some good litterature with you or put up a shelf with books and magazines in the bathroom.
If your iron supplement is what is causing the constipation, you should focus on getting as much iron from your diet as possible as this dietary iron is more easily absorbable than that of the iron tablets. Concentrated liquid iron extracts (e.g.
Floradix ®) made from herbs are more easily absorbable than iron tablets and do not cause constipation.
One trick is to do acupressure in order to stimulate bowel movements. You could lightly press or masage a point three fingers below your stomach for a few minutes. It is recommended to lie in bed during this self-treatment, but you can also try it while sitting on the toilet.
