Friday, January 25, 2013

Dealing With Diarrhea During Pregnancy

One of the things you will quickly learn about being pregnant is that your body may do all kinds of things it has never done before. You must realize that pregnancy is a big change, and many of your body's systems need some time to adjust. Or you may find that they will simply behave differently for the duration of the pregnancy, before going back to normal after having the baby. One area that seems to be most noticeably affected by pregnancy is your digestive system. Women who have spent their whole lives being completely regular suddenly find they are constipated, nauseous, or suffer from diarrhea.
Although constipation is probably more common in most pregnancies, pregnancy diarrhea occurs all too often. In fact, you may frequently find that your stool during pregnancy will alternate between various extremes. One of the best ways to manage constipation is to consume more fiber; however, it is sometimes difficult to find the right balance and suddenly adding a lot of fiber to your diet can have the reverse effect, leading to pregnancy diarrhea. As unpleasant as it is, there are some things you can do to minimize the discomfort.
If you observe that your stool during pregnancy is drastically different from a short time before, it might be helpful to keep track of what you ate. Pregnancy diarrhea can also be affected by other factors, such as stress, so it isn't always necessarily the food you are eating. Chances are though, that foods you normally consumed before your pregnancy may now impact your body in completely new and unexpected ways. If constipation and diarrhea become regular problems, it might be useful to keep a food diary for a few weeks to see if you can detect any patterns.
A few things to keep in mind when dealing with pregnancy diarrhea is to avoid any foods that are typical causes of severe diarrhea. Make sure that any meat you consume is fresh and has been thoroughly cooked. The same is true of eggs. Under no circumstances should you consume raw eggs while pregnant. While things like salmonella and E coli are serious enough while you're in normal health, they become far more dangerous if they should lead to pregnancy diarrhea. A very sever bout could bring on pre-term labor, or even a miscarriage.
It might take a little experimentation, but you will probably find that your body best responds to a balanced diet. It's quite normal for your stool during pregnancy to be somewhat different from what you are accustomed to. If you find yourself constipated, add fiber and fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet. However, and excess of these can lead to diarrhea, so you may need to adjust the amounts or how often you consume these foods.
While bouts of diarrhea are especially unpleasant during a pregnancy, they are usually fairly easy to deal with. Be sure to remove as much stress as possible from your life, and pay attention to what you eat. These are key in keeping you and your baby healthy.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

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