How to tackle constipation in pregnancy

Cajoling bowels to move and begging them to part with their contents is something pregnancy teaches most women. As Progesterone starts doing its rounds in the blood stream – it slows everything down. It makes you lethargic – and your bowel sluggish.

Now the first thing to remember about your bowels sluggishness is – that even though it may be inconveniencing you – it is good for the little one growing inside you. Because of the slow movement of the gut – the nutrients in the food that you eat - have a better chance of being absorbed and making it to your blood stream and through your blood stream to your baby. Unfortunately a side effect of this - is constipation.

However good your guts slowing down may be for your baby however - there is no denying that feeling bloated, gassy and clogged up – is a less than desirable feeling. And fortunately – there are things you can do – to feel better.

• Eat a high fibre diet – eating brown rice or broken wheat (dalia) can work wonders. Also whole fruits and fibrous vegetables
• Stay away from food made of refined flour (maida). So strike white bread, cakes and other baked products off your diet chart
• Sip water through the day. Sip warm water in the morning to stimulate the gut
• Try not to hold on when your bowels urge you to empty them. Go to the toilet when you feel the urge
• Eat a bowl of curd every day. The good bacteria in the curd really help your bowel along
• Get some exercise. Sitting around all the time makes the bowels even lazier than they would otherwise be

Some of these measures are sure to work for you – even if all of them don’t. But it is good idea to put as many of them into practice as possible. They are unlikely to harm you and will in all probability do you a world of good.

A word of caution – exercise restraint as you go about remedying constipation. Do not use laxatives without consulting your doctor.

The gut is meant to slow down. Unnecessarily and unduly hastening it can lead to insufficient nutrient absorption – that can be very harmful for your baby. So curb your enthusiasm to artificially treat constipation by reminding yourself that this is what your baby requires from you.

Adopt natural cures for constipation as far as possible. 

Author Bio

Dr Debmita Dutta (MBBS, MD) is a Parenting and Wellness Consultant. She belives Parenting – is an Art that is deeply rooted in Science – Medical Science. It is impossible to Parent right without an understanding of how your child’s growing Brain and Body function – because his / her Brain and Body are what make him the person he is.