Your baby is on the way! Your excitement continues to build toward your expected due date. However, with your excitement, comes an increase in pre-labor symptoms.
One of the most embarrassing symptoms is flatulence. What causes pre-labor gas? Is it caused by something you eat? Is your belly hard? How do you find relief? These are the many questions that many pregnant women would love to have answers to.
When your due date is drawing near, there are changes in your body that cause digestive challenges. There are foods that you should eat and those you should not.
Finally, to answer the ultimate question in every pregnant woman's mind, there are ways to relieve your embarrassing and uncomfortable situation!
What Causes Pre-labor Gas?
During pregnancy, your body produces a hormone called relaxin. Relaxin weakens your muscles making it more difficult to hold your gas bubbles. Progesterone is another culprit.
As your body creates more progesterone to support your pregnancy, it weakens the walls of the intestines, causing slowed digestion which, in turn, allows more gas to be produced during digestion.
As Your Baby Grows, the uterus, which is over your intestines, puts pressure on them.
Baby can also push further into the birth canal as soon as 25 weeks. When baby does this, the gasses that are produced in your intestines during digestion are compressed and pushed out of your body.
Because there is increased pressure in your digestive system, almost anything that you eat in late-term pregnancy can create gas.
In addition to the different foods you eat, your prenatal vitamins and the vitamin supplement, iron, can cause constipation which leads to bottled up gas in your belly.
It is the iron in your prenatals that causes constipation. However, if you are able to take iron supplements or prenatals with food, the chances of constipation may be reduced.
Contractions also produce gas. When you are going into pre-labor, you may experience diarrhea and gas from your body cleaning itself out in preparation for your big day.
This prepares an open channel through which baby can pass, and fewer accidents while pushing.
Gas or Contractions?
If you are experiencing a tight belly, it is important to decipher the difference between gas pains and contractions. Gas pains are sharper than labor pains, irregular, and will make you feel bloated. They can eventually resolve themselves.
Labor pain is a rhythmic contraction of the muscles all through your abdomen. If you have the symptoms of pain and a hard belly, don’t mistake it for gas, you may be having contractions.
The tell-tale sign of labor contractions is when your pain, which may feel like menstrual cramps, arrives every four to five minutes apart and continues to strengthen.
What to do About Gas?
Keep a diary to track what foods cause a gassy reaction for you. A food diary can also help you track your calories, and what foods and supplements to increase and decrease.
It also may help you to keep track of your food cravings, and what foods make you feel sick. Many fiber-filled vegetables and lentils are great for your baby but may be more challenging to your pride!
Drink a lot of water and exercise. This helps to reduce constipation and relieve the symptoms of gas. Water naturally reduces constipation, while exercise stimulates digestion. Exercise may help reduce both bloating and constipation.
Keep in mind that while gas-producing foods may cause embarrassment for you, your baby is not embarrassed, and needs the nutrients.
What Foods Should You Avoid?
Avoid fried foods and bubbly drinks. Eat smaller meals, chew longer, and avoid drinking from a straw. Avoid foods with chemicals and artificial sweeteners. Drink more water, as this helps to reduce constipation which causes gas.
As I mentioned earlier, exercise 30 minutes of exercise a day not only improves your health and mood, but also reduces constipation, increases digestion, and aids in relieving the symptoms of gas.
When you are exercising, and when you aren't, avoid tight-fitting clothing.
Another way to reduce constipation is to increase fiber through fruits, vegetables, and grains, or consider a fiber supplement or stool softener.
It is recommended to discuss these options with your doctor before you try them. Other times to connect with your doctor is if you are experiencing severe pain for thirty minutes or more, or if you are unable to find relief from constipation.
Your diet is your baby’s diet. Consult with your doctor as to what foods and drinks are beneficial for both of you, and which ones to avoid.
It is often to consider even laying off of stool softeners during your pregnancy and seek natural alternatives. The fewer medications you use, the healthier your baby will be.
As Your Big Day Approaches
Your excitement, and your nervousness will both increase as your big day approaches. Take the time to relax and destress. Concentrate on healthy breathing. Anxious breathing causes you to swallow more air which leads to…you got it! Gas! You will find that your many trips to the restroom all through pregnancy will change.
Later in pregnancy, rather than just rushing off to the restroom to pee, your restroom visits may help to relieve the pain of gas. Congratulations! This means that your baby is spending more time in your uterus. If you don’t have access to a restroom, no worries, gas pain eventually resides on its own.
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