Sorry - TMI coming up...

[fanny75]

I know this is one of the joys of being preggers, but I have never, ever been so constipated in my life, and its really getting to me. I've read the advice on mumsnet - drinking water, eating yucky dried apricots, sitting with my feet up - but nothing's working. Please help. I don't have a baby bump, I've got a massive, really need to poo bump. I thought I'd got it sussed last week, and it was sooooooo good, but no, now nothing is shifting it!

You're not alone! I've had terrible issues with this too.

Try some All Bran for breakfast for a few days, and drink some juices. However, one thing that definitely works is having a square of Ex Lax before bed- that's my failsafe cure!

A spoonful of Califig will bring relief in exactly 2 hours . It does say if you are pg though you should consult your gp before using.

Its horrible isn't it?
I'm taking iron tablets too which make matters worse.
MW just dismisses it as, like you say, one of the joys of being pregnant. Hard when you're so uncomfortable you can't sleep

I've found drinking stupidly large amounts of apple juice (we're talking a litre carton in one go!) seemed to help a bit.

Maybe try a fiber supplement, like Benefiber? I know they can work wonders with IBS. You do need to stick with them though.

Don't forget to keep moving yourself - exercise can help keep you regular.

Try Fybogel - which is also great for making the first post-natal poo less scary!

You need 25-30g of fibre a day and drink lots of water. Check for fibre content on the nutritional info on food you buy or look up on the internet the fibre content in your fruit and veg (you'd be surprised how low it is). I had terrible constipation in my first pregnancy and when I totted up my total fibre in a day I was surprised how low it was!

All-Bran is great cos it is 11g of fibre per serving iirc. Add a banana and it is 13-14g so you're halfway there. Switch to wholemeal bread and that is about 3g fibre per slice.

A serving of fruit or veg is only 1-2g of fibre so you make think you are eating a lot but probably not. Good luck, it is horrible isn't it.

a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in the evening worked wonders for me, and definately spatone rather than iron tablets.

Oh Bettergetthekidsteaon I had forgotten about the horrors of the first poo

I put a thread on here last week - baby v's poo.
I was constipated, and worried how I would cope pushing out a baby, if I couldn't even poo !!
I tried some lactose, and the next day had the bigest poo ever, that wouldn't flush
Ever since, have been really strict and ate loads of fruit, water and wobbled a bit on the birthing ball.
Had one every day since!
bettergetthekidsteaon, yeah, first poop after baby is another thing to worry about.
Due tommorow, so may stock up on the fybogel too !

I was really badly constipated after the birth of DS two years ago, and although I haven't experienced anything quite as bad as that this pregnancy, I bought some Lactulose (don't need a prescription) just in case. I think just knowing that it's in the house has made me poo more easily! (Or maybe I've been eating more sensibly than I realise...)

any (or all ) of the following -

• Eat dates and raisins
• drink one Fibogel sachet every day
• Take Lactulose
• glass of fresh orange each morning with a spoonful of linseeds stirred into it.

[note, must start taking my own advice]

jjkm - good point re overdoing it with the fibre. What you MUST do is drink PLENTY water or the fibre just compacts in the bowel.
Thats why Fibogel is good - it's a full glass of water that you drink it with, so it's good for the hydration too.

Yep - I've been drinking orange juice, eating Weetabix, plenty of fruit and veg - including the yucky dried apricots, perhaps I've been over doing it. I've just drunk loads of water - not good before going to bed normally - could be an interesting night!

Thanks for all the advice so far - and I'm mentally blocking the thought of the post-natal poo - thank you!

What is Lactulose and where do you get it?

Lactulose is basically liquid sugar, which softens everything before you pass it. Nice. In other words, it doesnt "prevent" constipation, it cures it.
You ask the pharmacist for it. They have it under the counter or in the fridge. It's very syrupy, so I find it a bit yuck to swallow, but it does the trick. When I was pg 6 years ago, i was told to have a teaspoon each morning and night, as a precaution, rather than waiting till I was constipated.

[again, I must start taking my own advice!]

"I was constipated, and worried how I would cope pushing out a baby, if I couldn't even poo"

Oh thank god del1 I'm not the only one! I was in agony the other night as I ran to and from the toilet with no, er, fruition! So glad it's not just me!

You can also ask your GP for lactulose on prescription so it's FREE!!!!!
Having paid £5 for a tiny bottle in Boots in "emergency' got 2 huge bottles from GP a week or so later on prescription. Done the same with Gaviscon.

Last pregnancy I went 3 weeks without 'going' ended up in hospital with a surgical consult for the hemaerroids they were soooo bad - they ended up have to give me an enema too which was sooo good!! My GP didn't really believe me on the phone that I hadn't been until he actually saw me - I was HUGE!! after the enema - a much more reasonable size for my pregnancy! And it looks like I'm going to have to start taking Laxoberal again.... hate the stuff but it's the only thing that works!

Lactulose, and glycerine suppositories. Don't overdo the fibre - esp. allbran, you can end up with a huge solid mass that is too big to pass!!!

Cooked veg and stewed fruit are very good - thye produce soft stools, not solid lumps.

(TMI, I know)

Lactulose is sent from HEAVEN :0

Prune juice at night then a coffee in the morning. Clears me out every time!

Prevention rather than cure, if you can manage it - fruit with breakfast and side salad with lunch and dinner if at all possible - should give nice soft stools and as others have said, too much high fibre can cause real problems, esp. if you are eating breakfast cereals to get it - not only too much fibre for some people to cope with, but also, all these cereals including allbran are stuffed full of sugar and a lot of salt - so not as healthy as you might think.

Also, in this weather, drink plenty too.

I struggled when pregnant also with this, I don't think it was diet so much as a change in hormones (have issues during periods too) as well as the iron tablets I was on.

Never found a foolproof solution

I can drink gallons of orange juice , prune juice, eat loads of fibre, apricots, raisins the lot. Never ended up like fizzielove, always used to go eventually after a few days of uncomfortableness but nothing I did speeded it along