Constipation Relief During Pregnancy

If a person has lesser than three bowel movements in a week the person is said to be constipated. When the person suffers from severe constipation, the person may find it difficult to pass the stools, as the stools are hard and dry. In severe constipation the person can also suffer from straining, bloating or have a sensation of a full stomach, although the person has not eaten anything. A person of any age can suffer from constipation. Women are known to suffer from constipation during pregnancy. Constipation in pregnancy is caused due to one of the two reasons. The first reason is hormonal changes the woman goes through in her pregnancy and the other reason is that the uterus exerts pressure on the intestine. For relief from constipation during pregnancy, there are some lifestyle changes which you will have to make.

Safe Constipation Relief During Pregnancy

Among the first thing, you will have to do is to stop worrying about the condition. Understand it is a normal condition and most women do go through it. So that you do not suffer from the condition too often, you will have to give help to your digestive system, so that waste is eliminated from the body.

Keep Your Body Well Hydrated
This is an important measure which you will take for relief for constipation during pregnancy or otherwise. When the body is well hydrated, it helps to keep the stool soft. We are all well aware than we must consume at least 8 to 10 glasses of water everyday, but rarely do we follow this. Along with water you should also include a lot of juices. One juice which you may want to include in your diet for its helps in getting rid of constipation is prune juice. You can also include buttermilk in your diet for relief from constipation in early pregnancy as well as later.

Exercise Regularly
Although strenuous exercise is not recommended during pregnancy, it is important to follow a light exercise routine. You can talk to your health care professional for the right type of exercise for your condition. Pregnancy exercises will take care of your digestive health. You can choose any of the low impact exercises. The examples of low impact exercises are walking, swimming, pregnancy yoga, etc., but do take care when you are exercising, so that you do not injure yourself.

Increase Fiber Consumption
For instant relief from constipation during pregnancy, you will want to increase the consumption of fiber. Foods like fruits, vegetables, cereals, etc. give the necessary roughage to the body, which helps to pass stools. You may want to switch over to whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc. and ditch their unhealthy counterparts like white bread, polished rice, etc., as they do not provide any roughage to the body and rather make the body sluggish.

Changing Prenatal Vitamins
All the prenatal vitamins have dietary iron as their ingredient, but some brands have lesser amount of iron as compared to others. Changing the prenatal vitamins after consulting your health care provider is one of the constipation remedies during pregnancy, which you may want to think about. Since these vitamins have iron in them, it is necessary you also drink a lot of water, so that you are not constipated.

Avoid Refined or Processed Foods
It is recommended, that you keep away from fast food, food made from refined white flour. These foods are very binding. Likewise it is better to stay away from sugar and cheese too. Fast foods like pizza should be avoided for the same reason.

You will come across a number of over-the-counter pregnancy constipation solutions, which can be used for constipation relief during pregnancy. However, it is better not to self treat yourself. It is best to talk to your health care provider. He will be able to recommend the best remedy for your problem.