Constipation (warning possibly TMI)

[babylove21]

23/24 weeks pregnant. Since day 1 i have been constipated.
before pregnancy once a day. now once every 2-3 days. not yet in pain, but uncomfortable with it, insides have little room as it is without 2 days worth of that!
have tried the ' fluid' route, tried hot water first thing in morning. Prunes i hear are good, not tried one yet but now willing to try anything.
Did mention it at last antenatal and was told to drink plenty. Had dp with me so was reluctant to go into detail with mw. funny how there are some things you just can't say any help appreciated, please.

Drink LOTS of water.
I find that melon and passion fruit got things moving. (Maybe don't eat them together - you may take up residence in the WC!)

hi babylove

i have the same prob but only 7 weeks so not as bad as you. i feel very bloated. was told to drink fruit juice.

I found a good bowl full of bran flakes every morning helped a lot.

Prunes are brilliant for constipation - loads of fibre and they also contain a gentle, natural laxative. Eat a couple every morning and have a glass of hot water with a squeeze of lemon.

During the day, drink plenty - preferably water but herbal/fruit teas are also good. Freshly-squeezed juices or smoothies also fab.

Foods with plenty of fibre - fruit and veg, wholemeal bread, high-fibre cereals etc are important but if you are upping your fibre intake make sure you also up your water intake otherwise it will have the opposite effect!

Gentle, regular exercise can help to get things moving but obviously don't overdo it.

It's a vile side-effect of pregnancy so you have my sympathies! If none of this works, see your GP. But the prunes should do the trick!

thanks everyone. I'm going to barve the prunes and make an effort to drink more fruit juice. I'll let you know how i get on.

those actimel (biofidus type bacteria drinks) - so could try that or active yoghurt. that really helps plus tons of water as lovemymum suggests.

If you try all the above and they fail get some lactulose from the chemist. Its marvellous stuff. I was on iron tablets three times a day which was just awful for constipateion and this helped tremedously

You will never eat enough fibre, even if everything is wholemeal, and I ate a whole pack of prunes in my last pregnancy without effect.

Take ispaghula husk sachets, they also make you drink a bit more water. Start out with one in the morning and one in the evening until you produce something sizable. Then see how you get on with just one a day.

And when that doesnt work, go back to two sachets a day, and add senna tablets in the evening.

And when that doesnt work, talk to your GP about movicol/something a bit more shifty.

sometimes additional fibre can actually make constipation worse - so do watch out with bran flakes etc

lactulose is def recommended - gets things moving and keeps them soft

I deliberately took lactulose for a couple of days before being induced with DS to ensure the first postnatal poos were easy

lol moominsmummy at taking it before being induced. so you didnt perform in labour then ?
I'll give the food 2 days then im off for lactulose. I take it thats perfectly safe to take in pregnancy for any amount of time ?

no i didn't
lactulose meant I had regular movements before the labour so was all cleared out beforehand! my friend had a horrific experience of being constipated and trying to poo when stitches very new - v painful and v worried that her entire innards were going to pop out if she pushed too much hence why i took precautionary measures!

Moominsmummy's right about too much fibre. A few years ago I had serious constipation problems, serious stomach pains and so bloated that people thought I was pregnant (wasn't then!) ate lots of muesli, bran flakes etc. When I went to doctor he said too much fibre can be v hard for stomach to break down so problem can get worse.
I had a colonic irrigation (never to be repeated and I would imagine absolutely not to be advised while pregnant) which seemed to kick start things, best thing though was eating dried apricots (the yummy, soft, squishy ones). Ate at least 6-8 every morning and the result was pretty instant ! Prunes are my mother's remedy but I hate them.
Good luck, it is such a miserable thing.

I have tinned prunes if ever this happens and it works a treat. Apricots and seeds have been having the same effect lately and keep away from wheat as I'm sure that makes it a million times worse.