Pregnancy, bloating, discomfort

During pregnancy, due to changes in the body's testosterone levels, the secretion of luteinizing hormone becomes significantly active. Although this type of hormone can inhibit the contraction of uterine muscles to prevent miscarriage, it will also slow down the body's intestinal motility; thus causing discomfort to the entire gastrointestinal tract, and may produce more gas than usual, with frequent bloating, burping, and flatulence.

Why do pregnant women have so much bloating? What is the reason for bloating and discomfort during pregnancy?

The main reason is that the level of progesterone (also called corpus luteum copper) in pregnant women's bodies has increased significantly. Progesterone is a hormone that relaxes the smooth muscles throughout your body, including your digestive tract, which slows down the digestion process and causes farts, burps, flatulence, and feeling abdominal discomfort, especially after a meal. Later in pregnancy, your expanding uterus will press against your abdomen, further slowing down your digestion process. Your stomach will also be compressed, making you feel more bloated after meals. During pregnancy, you may also begin to experience gastric juice or constipation, even if you have never had this problem before.

Where does the bloating in pregnant women's stomach come from?

Gas is produced in the digestive system in two ways: from the air you breathe, and from the gas produced by bacteria in the colon (intestines) as they break down undigested food. Most of the gas in your stomach comes from the air you breathe, which is usually expelled from the body through burping, but a small amount of gas continues to go down the digestive system into the intestines, causing flatulence. When the bacteria in the intestines break down the food that has not been fully digested by enzymes in the stomach and colon, a lot of gas will be produced, causing flatulence. Some carbohydrates are the main cause of gas. Although protein and fat are not the main "producers" of gas, they can also cause bloating because fat can slow down the digestion process.

The effect of pregnancy on abdominal distension is that pregnancy slows down the digestion process of food, giving bacteria more time to break down those incompletely digested substances before they are metabolized out of the body. A long dissolving time causes the food to further ferment, resulting in a large amount of gas. In fact, anything that slows down the bowel movement process means that unnecessary gas may be produced, so constipation can also make you feel more bloated.

What to do if pregnant women have bloating?

Develop a daily bowel movement habit and eat more vegetables, fruits and high-fiber foods to promote gastrointestinal motility. Moderate exercise can promote gastrointestinal motility through the movement of the whole body or waist muscles. Doing moderate exercise such as walking during pregnancy can also promote gastrointestinal function and relieve abdominal distension. Therefore, it is recommended that pregnant women take a walk outside for about 20 minutes 30 minutes to 1 hour after a meal to help with defecation and gas discharge. Appropriate consumption of spicy food, such as ginger, onion, and garlic, can promote gastrointestinal motility and can also remove heat from the body, so they can be consumed appropriately.