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Home › Articles › Health and Physical Changes › I Don't Gotta Go

I Don't Gotta Go

What Causes Constipation During Pregnancy?

By Lisa A. Goldstein

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Imagine being pregnant and unable to have a bowel movement for over a month. This happened to Ivana Gogh* from Pittsburgh, Pa.

Needless to say, she was very uncomfortable. Her stomach hurt a lot and she felt bloated. Her belly was distended, and it wasn't from the pregnancy – because at 8 weeks she was too early to be showing as much as she was. Gogh was extremely fatigued and barely had enough energy to take care of herself, much less her toddler. Many days it was a struggle to even shower.

Unfortunately, Gogh's predicament – while extreme in its length – is common for pregnant women.

More than 50 percent of all pregnant women suffer some degree of constipation, says Dr. Ken Troffater, director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and professor of Clinical Obstetrics in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Carolina. "It is probably only second to headaches among common pregnancy complaints. Think of it as 'nature's way' of getting the mother to absorb the most food and fluid from her diet she possibly can to help maintain the pregnancy."

The Three Ws: What, When and Why
The standard definition of constipation is having a bowel movement less than three times per week, but in Dr. Trofatter's experience, even this can't be defined as constipation unless it's accompanied by hard, dry stool that requires straining to eliminate.

This discomfort can start early in the first trimester, but usually becomes more of a problem from 20 weeks on, Dr. Troffater says. He says that some people are unusually prone to constipation because of poor fluid or fiber intake in their diets, so it can be a chronic problem throughout the pregnancy.

What causes this lovely side effect of pregnancy, anyway? A primary cause is the hormone progesterone, which is made in large amounts by the placenta by the end of the first trimester.


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