Pregnant women have dry and granular stools

Pregnant women are prone to dry stools during pregnancy, which is mainly related to the pregnancy. After pregnancy, the physical constitution declines and it is easy to get angry. In addition, as the fetus gradually grows larger during pregnancy, it is easy to compress the digestive organs, which can easily lead to dry stools. This is quite harmful to pregnant women and may even have adverse effects on the health of the fetus, so if you experience dry stools you must pay attention to good conditioning.

Pregnant women have dry and granular stools

After a woman becomes pregnant, under the influence of endocrine hormone changes, the placenta secretes a large amount of progesterone, which reduces gastric acid secretion, decreases gastrointestinal muscle tension, and weakens muscle peristalsis. This will cause the food you eat to stay in the gastrointestinal tract for a longer time and cannot be excreted normally like before pregnancy.

Furthermore, as food stays in the intestines longer, the water in the food residue is reabsorbed by the intestinal wall cells, causing the stool to become dry and hard, making it difficult to excrete from the body.

Also, after pregnancy, the pregnant woman's physical activity is less than before pregnancy, which makes it difficult for the intestinal muscles to push feces out; the enlarged uterus puts pressure on the rectum, making it difficult to expel feces; in addition, the muscles of the pregnant woman's abdominal wall become weak, and there is not enough abdominal pressure to push during defecation. Therefore, even if a pregnant woman feels the urge to defecate and contracts her abdominal muscles, the feces accumulated in the rectum is still difficult to expel.

Relieve constipation during pregnancy

1. Eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains

Pregnant women often have difficulty defecating because they eat too fine foods, so they should eat more vegetables, fruits and whole grains rich in fiber, such as celery, green leafy vegetables, radishes, melons, apples, bananas, pears, oats, mixed beans, brown rice, etc. Eat regularly and avoid overeating.

2. Regular bowel movements in the morning

The urge to defecate is most likely to occur in the morning and after each meal. Therefore, after getting up, drink a glass of cold boiled water or honey water on an empty stomach, and then eat a good breakfast to promote the upright reflex and gastrocolic reflex after getting up. In this way, you will soon feel the urge to defecate, and if you persist for a long time, you will form a good habit of defecating in the morning. It is best to have a bowel movement when you wake up in the morning.

3. Drink plenty of water

Pay attention to drinking water every day, but you must master the skills of drinking water, otherwise even if you drink water it may not have any effect. For example, drink water at a fixed time every day, in big gulps but not in a binge, so that the water can reach the colon as quickly as possible instead of being quickly absorbed into the blood by the intestines. This will make the stool softer and easier to excrete from the body.

4. Keep moving every day

In the late stages of pregnancy, many pregnant women often become lazy and inactive because their bodies gradually become heavy, so constipation is more obvious in the late stages of pregnancy. Moderate exercise can enhance the abdominal muscle contraction of pregnant women, promote intestinal peristalsis, and prevent or relieve constipation. Therefore, even when pregnant women are becoming increasingly heavy, they should do some exercise within their physical ability, such as walking, to increase the bowel movement.

5. Keep your body and mind happy

Arrange work and life reasonably, ensure adequate rest and sleep, and maintain a good mental state and optimistic attitude towards life. Pregnant women should not be upset because of the discomfort caused by vomiting. An irritable mentality can also lead to constipation. They might as well do more things that interest them, such as enjoying music, viewing flowers, reading, etc., and try to avoid adverse mental stimulation.

Constipation can cause a lot of discomfort to expectant mothers. I hope the methods I talked about can help you avoid or alleviate these discomforts and get through the pregnancy smoothly. Next time, I will talk to expectant mothers about food therapy, which is both convenient and safe.

Avoid spicy food and eat more fiber-rich foods, such as vegetables such as apples and radishes, fruits such as bananas, honey, beans, etc.