I'm pregnant and constipated. Will it affect my baby if I strain during a bowel movement?

You mentioned that you're pregnant and constipated and are wondering if it's going to hurt the baby if you strain to have a bowel movement and this is actually a really common question that pregnant women have. All that increased abdominal pressure can be a little scary, you want to make sure you don't push anything out. But there are a couple of things that are important to know. Number one is that constipation can be a normal part of pregnancy., Bowels just kinda slow down so if you're having issues with this you should do whatever you can to remedy the situation. Drink more water, eat high fiber foods, and talk to your doctor about a stool softener, and if that isn't enough then they can give you additional advice on what you can do in order to help witht eh constipation. Ultimately though, as long as you're not in labor or anything just straining while having a bowel movement should not hurt your baby or you, so that's important to understand. But also recognize that an increase in pressure, like sometimes it feels like you have to have a bowel movement, can be associated with contractions. And if you're preterm or less than 37 weeks, and you're having more abdominal cramping or back aches or abdominal tightening or this pressure sensation then you should talk to your doctor about it and then they'll ask you more specific questions about it and will be able to determine if they need to check you out for preterm labor issues. Another thing to consider is that if you are contracting and you feel like you're in labor. Let's say you're full term, you’re 38 or 39 weeks, you're at home contracting every 10ish minutes or so, it's not quite time to go to the hospital if everything else is looking good, but you're just trying to buy some time at home. The last thing you want to do if go on the toilet and strain to have a bowel movement because if you have that sensation to push while you're in labor then it might be a little bit concerning because you might go from 0 to 60 really fast and occasionally there are people who deliver babies in the toilet. On labor and deliver I would frequently tell my patients that they were able to go have a bowel movement if they needed to, but it needed to be something that could happen quickly and easily because it's not something that you should strain over while you're in labor because again it's probably not the need to have a bowel movement, it may be the baby’s head putting pressure on the rectum giving the sensation that you need to have a bowel movement. So those are just a few things to keep in mind and if you have any questions or concerns about it talk with your OB provider and they'll be able to give you tailored information and advice about it. And If you have more questions in the future for me feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at facebook.com/intermountainmoms and recommend us to your friends and family to.

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