22 thoughts on “What pregnancy does to the innards”

  1. My goodness. Glad I only did this twice. Think of the women that become pregnant 5, 6 and more times & what it does to them time and again. And yes, in my experience, pregnancy did cause constipation. Now I see why!

    1. As is so often the case with things in humans the cause of the constipation in prenancy is multi-factorial. Certanly later in pregnancy (36 wks +) some hold up from presure may occur. However the normal high levels of progesterone in pregnancy make smooth muscle (in the bowel) relax and this also adds. Add to that constipating effects of many iron tablets (no longer in the UK given routinely). Women tend to be less active, and often slightly reduce their fluids which also adds to the problem. Reucing fluids reduces the frequency that goes with later pregnancy.

      I’m glad I’m a man 😉

  3. Our bipedality really does cause a lot of problems. This is one that I had not thought about very much.
    Think of the poor bladder!

      2. Yup, I had to hit the bathroom constantly during both of my pregnancies – squished bladder syndrome. I had to get up constantly at night, so my sleep was pretty poor. Not bad preparation for a new baby, I guess.

        I didn’t have any trouble with constipation, but I had constant heartburn for the only time in my life. Between heartburn, squished bladder, and morning sickness (for all 9 months), my pregnancies were pretty miserable.

        I tell my second kid that he is a miracle child.

    2. It would exaggerate problems, but wouldn’t the basic rearrangement happen in all mammals?

  5. Ok, I’m feeling it right now at four months along with my third child. Constipation is a very common symptom of pregnancy, but it starts much earlier than the organ shifting. It’s usually one of my first symptoms.

  6. Just asked my wife…. constipation is *very* common. What she also said was that other problems occur – especially when the baby bounces on the bladder …

  8. My wife tells me she was not constipated during pregnancy, but did pee a lot. She tends to eat a high fiber diet.

  9. Right now right this second my daughter in law is in labor could be any minute now. I will tell her about the constipation.I do remember it was bad after birth.Will go back and read this trying to keep my mind busy.

  13. Another bothersome thing was being short of breath in late pregnancy. With all those other organs being squished upwards, it made breathing deeply pretty difficult. My first baby was a big one, too, 9 lbs 6 oz, which exacerbated the problem.

  15. So what’s the deal with the bolus coming down the esophagus, through the stomach, disappearing at the small intestine and (apparently) reappearing as a…ahem, minor explosion at the other end of the alimentary canal?

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