Constipation in Pregnancy: When Does It Start? How to Handle?

You will experience the issue in your first trimester – it could affect you when you're only 6 days pregnant. The condition is usually caused by the increase in progesterone levels, which in turn make your digestive tract muscles to relax a bit and give your intestines more time to extract nutrients from food. There will be a dramatic increase in progesterone levels during your 9^th and 32^nd weeks of pregnancy, and that's usually the time when constipation will hit you hard. You may also have to deal with constipation towards the end of your pregnancy, and that's mainly when your uterus grows larger.

You may notice several constipation symptoms during your pregnancy. It could be as common as painful and infrequent bowel movements or you may not feel any urge to use the bathroom for as long as three days. If you haven't had any bowel movement for the last three days or more, you should go see your doctor and find a solution to this problem.

Increase Your Fiber Intake

You should eat fiber-rich food to make it easy for your body to eliminate waste. Add more whole-grain breads and cereals to your diet with peas, beans, and loads of fresh fruits and vegetables. Be sure to eat at least 35g of fiber every day to deal with constipation. Just make sure you don't add all 35g at once – introduce fiber-rich food slowly into your routine for better effects.

Eat Smaller Portions and Drink Plenty of Water

You should avoid big meals and eat smaller meals more frequently to avoid overtaxing your digestive tract. Eating six smaller meals every day is the better option to avoid gas and bloating. At the same time, you should drink at least eight glasses of water, fruit juice, vegetable juice or broth every day. The water will help food moving through your digestive tract. If you're already feeling constipated, you may consider drinking some prune juice. Don't drink too much of it because it is a mild laxative as well.

Make a Routine

When does constipation start in pregnancy? No matter when it hits you, you should know your schedule and eat or drink accordingly. If you will be going out by 8, it is a good idea to eat your fibers and drink your prune juice by 7 to give yourself enough time to use the bathroom if need be.

Choose Your Supplements Carefully

You may be using supplements and medications to provide your body with vitamins, iron, calcium, and other essential nutrients, but these supplements may aggravate your constipation. Talk to your doctor about your constipation and adjust dosages or change certain medications to prevent constipation.

Be More Active

You may feel tempted to sit and relax all day long, but that's only going to make your constipation worse. Regular exercise will always help during pregnancy and it will encourage regular bowel movements as well. Even a light exercise for 15 minutes a day will do the trick.

In addition, you may consider using supplements or food to increase the number of good bacteria, the probiotic acidophilus. It's available in yogurts and plays a role in breaking down food better. This will go a long way in improving your constipation. Whatever the case, be sure not to use stimulant laxatives. They may do more harm than good. Avoid!

In addition to constipation, there are some other early signs and symptoms of pregnancy. For instance:

• Slight bleeding: You may notice a small amount of blood – the experts call it implantation blood and it usually happens when the fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of your uterus.

• Cramping: With your uterus growing every day, it is common to experience cramping early in your pregnancy.

• Raised vassal body temperature: It refers to your oral temperature in the morning. The temperature will go up within the first couple of days after ovulation.

• Nausea: You usually experience nausea with vomiting in the morning, but it can affect you any time in the day and is among the earliest signs of pregnancy.

• Swollen, tender breasts: Your breasts will keep changing their size and firmness throughout your pregnancy. Soon after you become pregnant, your breasts swell and become tender. They may look fuller and heavier as well.

• Food aversions: If you've just started turning up your nose at some specific foods, this could be one of many early signs of pregnancy. Even the smell of certain foods may be enough to make you feel nauseous.

In addition to these, you may also experience some other early physical signs of pregnancy, such as fatigue, food cravings, frequent urination, mood swings, headaches, faintness, and dizziness. If these symptoms are not manageable or you're not sure why you're experiencing all this, you should go see your doctor and discuss it all for confirmation.