During the entire period of pregnancy, every woman experiences enormous loads. In addition, it is necessary to conduct many examinations, to pass various tests. After the birth of a long-awaited baby, various complications may appear.
A young mother may experience discomfort of varying degrees: dizziness, heartburn, swelling, nausea, constipation after childbirth. Moreover, the last complication is the most unpleasant.
This phenomenon means the passage of the defecation process in a difficult or incomplete form, the stool after childbirth can be hard and leave with blood.
Views
There are two forms in which constipation after childbirth can manifest itself:
- atonic;
- spastic.
The first type occurs in the thicket during cesarean section, as a protective reaction of the body to outside interference in the abdominal cavity. Such constipation is characterized by pulling and aching pains in the abdomen, there is a feeling that the intestines are full, there is no appetite. All this can be accompanied by increased gas formation, depressed mood, lethargy and nausea. In addition, after childbirth, a woman may feel that it hurts to poop, and feces can come out with blood.
Psychological and nervous experiences in some cases can also trigger spastic constipation after childbirth. In this case, an increased intestinal tone may be observed. As a result, a woman loses her appetite, is often nervous, becomes more irritable, often feels nausea and spastic pain.
The main causes
Many women are interested in such an interesting question, why such a phenomenon is observed even in those women who have never encountered problems of the gastrointestinal tract. Constipation after childbirth can occur for a number of different reasons.
By and large, all causes are divided into two types:
- physiological;
- psychological.
The first type includes causes that usually occur due to cardinal changes occurring in the body of every pregnant woman. During the entire period of pregnancy, the muscles of the abdominal region may be in a weakened or stretched state. In frequent cases, peristalsis may be impaired, and intestinal displacement is not ruled out. For this reason, defecation after childbirth can be difficult with blood.
In addition, the cause of constipation after childbirth can be hormonal changes, malnutrition, and an enlarged large intestine. In this case, gas formation, nausea, heaviness of the intestines, discomfort can be felt. All this can be accompanied by pain.
Psychological reasons are mainly associated with certain fears. Almost every woman who has given birth to a child begins to experience various emotions, disappointing thoughts associated with the upcoming chores appear. However, in most cases, all this is unreasonable. Lack of sleep, as well as overwork, contribute to constipation in some future.
Treatment
In order to prescribe appropriate treatment for constipation after childbirth, the doctor must have an idea of why he appeared. In some cases, you can do without medications, since they are prescribed only when other drugs are not effective. Therefore, they begin to treat such a problem with the most harmless drugs.
It is not recommended to carry out treatment with various drugs yourself!
In this case, even homeopathic remedies can pose a serious danger to the female body. As for laxative drugs, many of them develop addiction, for this reason they should be used only in emergency cases, and in compliance with the dosage prescribed by the specialist. The same applies to some herbal infusions. In addition, as a result of addiction, the situation may worsen even more.
If there is a need to treat constipation with the use of laxatives during breastfeeding, you can use the following: Forlax and Fortrans. The use of Gutalax, Regulax, Chitosan-Evalar, Dulcolax (Bisacodyl), Doctor Thyss during breastfeeding is prohibited. Preparations using hay (Sennalax, Glaxenna, Trisasen) contribute to the toning of the muscles of the intestinal wall. In this regard, they should not be used with a spastic form of constipation after childbirth.
Herbal medicine can contribute to an allergic reaction in a baby during breastfeeding. In this connection, for some time it is recommended to exclude any course of treatment. In particular, it is worth avoiding those medicines that use horse chestnut – it helps to stop the formation of milk.
Enema should also be carried out in emergency situations. As an option, use laxatives. No harm from them, however, if there are no cracks in the intestine and the woman does not suffer from hemorrhoids, it is better not to use them.
Treatment of constipation after childbirth should mainly consist of physical activity and a proper diet. If difficult bowel movements are associated with muscle weakness, then it is necessary to strengthen them. If there are psychological reasons, then the work of the nervous system should be normalized. By and large, the problem is solved in an integrated way, when work is carried out in all directions.
First of all, you need to take care of establishing the right diet with strict adherence to the diet. In this case, it is worth abandoning any diets, since an important point is the healthy state of the baby and his mother. Of course, you should not eat everything, but hunger strikes will not benefit. Even if there is a need to lose weight, you can do this a little later, because at the moment it is very important to get a full and proper nutrition.
In case of constipation after childbirth, you should build your diet from safe ingredients, since all the nutrients that the mother receives for food will be passed through the milk to the baby. Therefore, those products that can cause allergic reactions and those that are difficult to digest should be completely abandoned.
A mother’s diet should consist mostly of vegetables: pumpkin, lettuce, carrots, spinach, zucchini and fruits: melons, apples, apricots. In addition, you can eat cereals from various cereals: pearl barley, millet, buckwheat, with the exception of rice and semolina. Exclude from the diet should be some berries and fruits such as: currants, blueberries, strawberries, quinces, pears. You should also not eat hard cheeses, pastries, including white bread in any form, cookies, nuts, beans. From drinks it is worth giving up strong coffee and tea. With constipation after childbirth, dairy products can be included in the diet.
It is worth as often as possible to use a liquid in any form: pure water, compotes from cherries and other dried fruits.
Prevention
In addition to a healthy diet, it is necessary to establish a regime of rest and sleep. Of course, with the appearance of the baby in the family, trouble is already added, but this does not exempt from the need to rest and restore strength.
As a good prophylactic, you can use aromatherapy, breathing technique. And one of the most proven remedies is taking a shower or bath, followed by massage. It is advisable to include aerobics here or just do gymnastics in the morning.
Maintaining an active lifestyle will help to avoid any health problems, even after pregnancy.
