Pregnancy and constipation

[Trying4one]

Hi
I am 18+1 weeks pregnant and I am having real issues with my gut. I have IBS which has got worse in the last month. I generally have a bowel movement a day but it can be a struggle and may only be a few rabbit droppings. I am also extremely bloated 24/7 and it is getting really uncomfortable. I generally eat 15 to 20g fibre a day and drink 4 litres of water a day. Other then taking califig, I am at a loss at what else to try and get things moving more and reduce the bloating. Windeze used to work for me pre pregnancy but it barely does anything now.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated

dates work for me

Can you have fybrogel? Ive found that works for me. My midwife told me to increase water intake as much as possible as the baby takes most of it- I found that difficult to do though without feeling like I was going to explode.

Have you tried Hepar water? It has magnesium in it which helps bowls movements and relieves constipation. I’ve used it throughout my pregnancy (as directed by my gyny) and so long as a drink a minimum of 1 litre per day, I don’t have any problems. If I forget, I have problems again.

@Charlotte2020 I actually used to use fybogel a number of years ago but stopped for one reason or another. I may have to give it a go again.
@NotThatKindOfDoctor oh I haven't heard of that. I will have a look Into it. Thanks 😊

Have been having prunes to help mine (shovelling 10 down seems to take effect the same day or next day) - should probably have a handful daily as a preventative too but I forget

A squatty potty, or anything to raise your feet up when on the toilet. Raising the feet up, to a more squatting position (whilst sitting on the loo) straightens out your bowel and makes it 100x easier to poo. You can buy an actual brand called squatty potty, but anything to raise your feet up would help- bricks, phone books, kids stools etc.

The usual fibre recommendation is 30g a day for an adult, so you are low on that. The hormones in pregnancy slow down peristalsis, so I'd be inclined to have even more in your diet. Chia seeds, psyllium husks, raspberries, dried fruit are all high in fibre. You are already drinking 4litres of water, which is a huge amount! Sounds like just your fibre intake is too low.