Bad Constipation - Does Straining Hurt Bubs

Hi Guys,

THis is going to be a way TMI post, but I need to ask the question.

Constipation seems to have hit with a vengeance (i'm 28 weeks) and I know all the things to do to help it and I know that we shouldn't be straining from the point of view of heamorrhoids etc. but my question is, when you're sitting on the loo and have the urge but nothing is moving and you can't help but strain to get it out, is that putting pressure on bubs? Is it bad for bubs? Does it somehow put them under stress or decrease oxygen supply??

I really have no idea on this one and am hoping for some opinions.

Sorry for the topic.

Thanks

Hi There,

First of all- so sorry to hear you are suffering from what i feel is the worst preg symptom... Suffering from it alot myself...

best thing to do is try to avoid getting consitpated... (you said you new all the things to fix it so i wont go there)

I dont think straining can hurt bubs but its not good for you to strain... trust me i know... maybe if its that bad you need to strain and are worried bout hurting bubs try to get some supositries... they'll have you fixed up in no time and will avoide all that necessary straining...

i really wish i could offer more help but am really unsure...

Hope things get better :hug:

I don't think it will hurt bubs but as you've said it can hurt you in the form of 'roids. Avoid straining at all costs. I've had them and they aren't nice at all :(

Eat pears, drink plenty of water and you can take a gentle laxative such as coloxyl.

Hey there,

i'm not sure of the answer to your question but I just wanted to sympathise.....its soooo frustrating when you're constipated! I had it quite bad for a few weeks around the time I was 28 wks too. The only thing I found that helped was patience! I found that if I was rushing out to work or something I'd end up suffering all day but if I just gave it time (sitting on the loo......doing nothing!!) and tried to relax then eventually (and I mean sometimes 30 mins later) it would happen.

Hope you get some relief soon!:)

Don't know about that. Just wanted to give you some advice that will sound ridiculous but it sure works for me. If things are feeling a little solid down there I blow my nose at the same time as I'm going and it seems to help things along. It probably wont work with full on constipation, but it might be worth a try.

Thanks for the advice guys - satya - yours made me laugh, but I definately will try it - anything to help at this stage.

Going to my Ob today so will ask her this question and report back.

Touch wood so far I've had it fairly easy with this pregnancy (I'm going to jinx myself for saying that now) but this constipation is like nothing I've ever experienced before. I have to laugh at myself cause as I was on the loo trying to get this thing out, I was picturing to myself going through labour - ha ha ha - I'm such an idiot

think i might just eat a whole bag of prunes and glide through!!

ha ha enough poo talk

thanks again

Nulax is another really good natural laxative. Just check with your m/w or ob first.

Spring

You have all my sympathies. I swear by Metamucil, daily. I can speak from experience regarding heamorrhoids and had to have one removed the day before yesterday. Not a pleasent procedure I promise. Do all you can not to excessively strain.

I'm with you maybub - posterchild for metamucil! At 34 weeks I'm on 3 capsules a day and haven't had any constipation at all. One really bizarre thing I have always found that gets me moving is going to the library or a bookshop (obviously one with a bathroom nearby). For some reason when I'm happily browsing a library or bookshop I'm suddenly overcome by the urge to go. I know that sounds weird, and I'm sure this would not work for everyone but I have talked to some other people who had the same very odd experience. But otherwise metamucil, patience and plenty of time.

i can't believe you have posted that about the bookshops and libraries because I experience the exact same thing. I rememeber at school going to the big library in the city for research and every single time having to go to the loo.

what a classic! i can't believe there is someone else out there like that! that cracks me up!

LOL! I'm so glad it's not just me - I thought you would all think I was nuts!
Anyway good luck juleswa!

Like so many others, i dont know if it would hurt bubs or anything but i too sympathise like everyone else, i've been eating sultana bran and light and tasty (full of fibre apparently) but i think the sultana's are making it better for me, cant stand the taste of them but a bowl in the morn helps me heaps, no more straining which was the main thing. (so yeah try pears and/or sultana's)

I'm with you girls in the library or bookshop thing too.... weird huh? I thought it was just me!! I also always need to wee as soon as I enter the supermarket for a big shop (regardless if I went before I left!) and Spotlight often has the same effect as the bookshop too.... heh heh!

I have suffered from constipation. Its I found that prune juice and prunes really helped. I also tried Pears and cranberry juice. I also read in a natrupathy book that the pith (the white stuff in mandarins or oranges) can help with internal haemorriods (sp?). I love mandarins so that wasn't a problem for me.

At my antenatal class, the physio recommend when you sit on the loo. You lean forward with legs apart and put your feet up on tip-toes. Looks funny, but it will straighten out your bits for passing a number two. They also said you shouldn't strain, it affects your pelvic floor muscles. (apparently men are meant to do this to - LOL)

Sorry for TMI, but I think it all helped me!

This post is sooo funny - but not! I too always have the urge when looking at a bookshop or somewhere I can't access the toilet. And Juleswa, I suffered from constipation too at around 28 weeks! :hug: Prune juice & porridge seemed to work a treat for me - and so did a green apple and a black coffee (having them together- is a theory my mum told me - weird but worked). I know this also sounds disgusting, but taking fish oil regularly - lubricates your insides, including your waste, so when it does eventually come out it won't rip you apart!! :crying: At one stage I hadn't been for 6 days and was eating like a horse, and eventually when it was ready it came out I was thankful for taking fish oil!! I also always seem to be in a rush, and when I sit on the toilet, if it doesn't happen instantly, I think "bugger it - i'm not sitting here all day", but when I realised that perhaps I can't rush these things and took the time to sit and relax - it did happen.
good luck mate, I hope it regulates soon!! I did also check with my Obs, and he said it was fine to take metamucil. Sorry, I just realised that this didn't answer your question in the slightest, but hope it assists in some way - even just knowing that it happens to everyone. I always worry that if you strain, you'll start an early labour, but I think the idea is to relax and let your body work it out without your assistance.

cant imagine that it would hurt bubs in any way...

if all else fails go and get some NUX VOMICA from your health store Brauer brand i think... I was constipated in my lst pregnancy and nothing worked until i tried this homeopathic stuff and within 3 days i was good as gold....

Well this thread has saved me from posting a question about is it okay to be using Metamucil while pregnant...I'm having a terrible time with constipation and I'm paranoid about 'roids because I've already got varicose veins in my legs giving me trouble.

I tend to sit on the loo with a book! That keeps me from getting bored while I'm waiting for things to get moving.

I find a salad with oil and vinegar dressing washed down with a milkshake usually helps propel things along. And another vote for green apples!

ETA: No I don't think it hurts Bubs to strain, I think it hurts mum more, with the risk of 'roids and pressure on the pelvic floor.

ooh this is a thread after my own heart! I had the worst constipation (for the first time ever) of my entire life at 21.5 weeks, and ended up going to hospital by ambo with suspected umbilical cord prolapse or visible (externally!) membrane. Turned out to be nothing more than a vaginal wall prolapse and bubby was fine.. it was all thought to be due to straining (even tho - weirdly, I didn't have any 'roids or anything like that! So wouldn't that mean I didn't strain too much? I was trying to NOT strain. Or mebbe I strain weirdly??! :doh:).

Anyway, so my motto is a huge "avoid avoid avoid!". interestingly I had already been taking some metamucil (but I think a combo of headcold/accidental dehydration sent me up nasty creek without paddle). Plus I also am unable to eat pears/apples/sultanas/prunes/bran/coloxyl etc due to a malabsorption problem with fruit sugars, so can't resort to many of the typical remedies.

So it didn't hurt bubs per se, but I could have lived without the stress! (given we were told that bubby probably wasn't going to make it, and I was taken to a birthing room ready!). Ever since, I take my metamucil religiously, eat as much fibre as possible and ALWAYS take a book in (like an old grandpa hahaha!) because I relax and don't think about it, and then it always happens (and believe me, there's nothing like making you paranoid about pooing than to have it result in a trip to hossie!). And touch wood - no further prolapses/problems since. Haven't tried the bookshop thing tho :lol:.. might have to trot off to Borders!

Hope i've scared u all enough to eat prunes by the bucketload! Seriously, think I was pretty unlucky... or just "special". haha.

Wow Belfie! That must have been so scary.... I''m off to drink a litre of water right now!! I had my muesli for breakfast so I'm looking good on the fibre side so far today, now to just get that water down!

thanks for the warning though!

Hey if you're still around juleswa - the girls in the 16-30 July group were wondering what you're up to and if you still keep up with that thread?

Question for those taking metamucil, What time of day do you take it? I usually forget til 9pm and then if I take it then I get h/burn with it. It also makes me feel so full just b4 or after a meal. What do the rest of you do?

hi
you could also try warm water to drink first thing in the morning (if you can stomach it!) and seeded bread, both work wonders for me as metamucil makes me want to be sick! also, definitely pay attention to your posture when pooing as bigbubbabelly said, having suffered terrible hemaroids first time, i've been more careful this time and so far so good:crossfingers: