Constipation in pregnancy: causes, how to unblock it, when it disappears
Introduction
Constipation during pregnancy is a condition that affects, on average, 11 to 38% of expectant mothers.
If you are pregnant and suffer from it, in the next lines of this article you can find several valuable information.
You will find out, for example, how to fight it and how long it lasts for.
To experience a healthy and conscious sweet wait, I recommend you take a look at the video course on nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding, a course curated by Doctor Federica Dell'Oro , the nutrition biologist of the DrSilva team.
If, instead, you are looking for ideas and inspiration dedicated to the motor development of your little one, I invite you to come and visit me on Instagram on the profile @drsilva.com_official .
Constipation in early pregnancy: what is it caused by?
Constipation during pregnancy is particularly acute at the beginning of gestation.
As Dr. Maria Chiara Alvisi, midwife of the DrSilva team, recalls in this video , this is due to the influence of progesterone.
Fundamental for preparing the breast for breastfeeding and for adequately relaxing the uterine muscles , ensuring the physiological continuation of the pregnancy, this hormone causes a general slowing down of the body's functions, impacting primarily on intestinal transit.
This is how constipation arises during pregnancy, a problem that is more pronounced in women who already suffer from it before pregnancy.
Pregnancy and constipation: other causal and risk factors
The increase in progesterone levels in early pregnancy causes the onset of constipation.
Behind this condition, however, there may also be other causal and risk factors .
These may include the natural compression of the intestines by the growing uterus.
This occurrence leads, by extension, to a slowing down of intestinal peristalsis .
Constipation during pregnancy can be exacerbated by a low-fiber diet - here are tips to best meet your daily needs - a sedentary lifestyle, and excessive weight gain.
In the last moments of sweet waiting, aldosterone also intervenes.
Steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands to control changes in sodium levels in the body, it causes drier stools by causing a strong reabsorption of water in the colon.