Chorevia

Day 115 of 280 · 16 weeks + 3 days

Constipation

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 10 sources · Plain-text version

Slower digestion is part of pregnancy, and constipation comes with it. Today you build one shelf that makes the fix easier than the problem.

Size this week
about the size of an avocado
Length this week
around 11.6 cm from head to bottom
A Black woman in a loose grey sweatshirt arranges a bag of prunes, a box of bran cereal and a bowl of pears on an open kitchen shelf, a filled water bottle beside them, morning light.

Sixteen weeks and three days. Today's subject is one nobody puts on a greetings card, and one of the most common things in this whole series. The fix is mostly a shelf.

Your baby

One whole dark-green avocado on a plain white linen cloth, soft daylight.

Around 11.6cm from head to bottom, the size of an avocado (NHS). The hands are far enough along to form fists, and they may punch around inside the womb (NHS). The nervous system that drives those arm and leg movements is still developing (NHS), so none of it is on purpose yet.

Your body

Constipation can cause bloating, sickness and tummy ache around now (NHS). The reason is simple: digestion slows in pregnancy, which brings heartburn and constipation together (MedlinePlus). The OWH's definition is fewer than three bowel movements a week with hard, dry stools (OWH); if you're not there, it may be discomfort rather than constipation.

What helps is unglamorous and works. MedlinePlus says to drink plenty of water, 8 to 9 cups daily, and add fiber from raw fruits and vegetables such as prunes and whole grain or bran cereals (MedlinePlus); the OWH puts the water at eight to 10 glasses (OWH). If that isn't enough, ask your provider about a stool softener, and ask before using any laxative (MedlinePlus). Straining has a cost too: up to 50 percent of pregnant women develop hemorrhoids, which tend to get better after delivery (OWH).

Try today

  1. The fiber shelf

    Time: 15 minutes, including the shop

    1. Clear one kitchen shelf at eye level. Not a cupboard you have to open; a shelf you see.

    2. Stock it with prunes, a whole grain or bran cereal, and a bowl of fruit you'll actually eat (MedlinePlus).

    3. Fill a water bottle and stand it on the shelf. Refill it through the day and count the refills toward 8 to 9 cups (MedlinePlus).

    4. Start the day from the shelf: cereal and a prune or two before anything else.

    5. If a week passes with fewer than three bowel movements, ask your provider about a stool softener before you reach for anything stronger (OWH).

    Make it work:

    Keep the shelf for the rest of the pregnancy. Bloating and constipation are still on the NHS's list at week 20 (NHS).

Watch for

  • Normal

    bloating and a dull tummy ache from constipation (NHS).

    Call your provider right away

    for constant, severe abdominal pain, or pain with bleeding or fever (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    feeling queasy when you're backed up; the NHS lists sickness among what constipation can cause (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for severe, constant nausea or vomiting several times a day (OWH).

  • Normal

    piles, which are on the NHS's symptom list by week 21 (NHS).

    Call your provider

    before taking any over-the-counter bowel medicine; MedlinePlus says not to without talking to your provider first (MedlinePlus).

For you

The water matters as much as the fiber, and it matters for more than this. The Institute of Medicine's figure, as the OWH gives it, is about 10 cups of fluids a day (OWH). If you're at work, that means bathroom breaks; MedlinePlus suggests routine ones, which may also lower the risk of a urinary infection (MedlinePlus).

If you're the partner: the shelf is a shopping list. Prunes, bran cereal, fruit, and a bottle she likes drinking from. Buy it today and don't make it a joke; she already knows.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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