When To Call Your Doctor
Remember, while a mild case of diarrhea isnt anything to really worry about during pregnancy, there are a few times you should get in touch with your practitioner right away, including if you:
- Have more than three stools a day
- Have diarrhea lasting more than 48 hours, despite dietary changes
- Have stools that are bloody, contain mucus or are purely liquid
- Were recently in close contact with someone known to have a parasite or stomach flu
Abdominal Pain Or Discomfort
Sharp, shooting pains on either side of your stomach may result from the stretching tissue supporting your growing uterus. These pains may also travel down your thigh and into your leg.
Recommendations:
- Change your position or activity until you are comfortable avoid sharp turns or movements.
- If you have a sudden pain in your abdomen, bend forward to the point of pain to relieve tension and relax the tissue.
- Apply a hot water bottle or heating pad to your back, or take a warm bath or shower.
Of Course Diarrhea In Early Pregnancy Can Happen
You certainly can get diarrhea in early pregnancy, whether its due to something you ate or a stomach bug, Dr. Rosser says. Diarrhea has a ton of potential causes, including bacteria-contaminated food or water, viruses , parasites, certain medications , and food intolerances , according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. All of those things can mess with your GI functioning, whether youre pregnant or not.
Thats why Dr. Ruiz compares looking at diarrhea as an early sign of pregnancy to trying to read tea leaves. Basically, youre going to see what you want to see. At the end of the day, no single symptom is a foolproof sign that youre pregnant. So even though its tempting to interpret every weird body thing as a sign that youre expecting, a missed period and positive pregnancy test are really the best indicators that you might be pregnant.
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Is Diarrhea A Sign Of Miscarriage
You can rest assured having diarrhea during early pregnancy is hardly ever about your babys wellbeing or a sign of anything going wrong with your pregnancy.
Its usually completely unrelated to you being pregnant. It might be an upset stomach due to a virus or food poisoning. Or it could be a case of your pregnancy hormones just doing their job properly.
If you have diarrhea around the time you miscarry, it doesnt mean diarrhea has made you lose your pregnancy.
When diarrhea happens at the time of a miscarriage its usually because progesterone production has stopped and your uterus and digestive tract are adapting to this change.
When your body is actively miscarrying you might experience diarrhea at the latest stages. If you have diarrhea with no other pregnancy-related symptoms, a miscarriage is highly unlikely.
Change In Cervical Mucus
Some of our forum mums find their cervical mucus changes and they seem to have more mucus than usual.
In very early pregnancy, your mucus may seem to be thinnish and slippery for longer than usual and it will then thicken due to the increase in progesterone.
For forum mum Blue_Gecko, this thickened mucus was one of the clearest early signs she was pregnant. “The cervical mucus was creamy and quite heavy,” she recalls. “It felt quite moist down there.”
Cervical mucus is usually a pale white/yellow colour but dont worry if you see a brownish discharge: this is also common. Its usually harmless, but if youre worried, have a chat with your GP.
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Pregnancy Heartburn Or Indigestion
Heartburn is a burning feeling that starts in the stomach and seems to rise up to the throat. During pregnancy, changing hormone levels slow down your digestive system, weaken the stomach sphincter, and your uterus can crowd your stomach, pushing stomach acids upward.
Recommendations:
- Try to avoid constipation. Constipation can cause hemorrhoids and will make them more painful.
- Avoid sitting or standing for long periods of time change your position frequently.
- Dont strain during a bowel movement.
- Apply ice packs or cold compresses to the area or take a warm bath a few times a day to provide relief.
- Avoid tight-fitting underwear, pants, or pantyhose.
- If you still need more help, consult your health care provider.
Is Diarrhoea A Symptom Of Early Pregnancy
No, diarrhoea isn’t considered to be a sign of early pregnancy. On the contrary, the NHS says that constipation is actually more likely in the early weeks of pregnancy.
It is true that diarrhoea can sometimes happen more often in pregnancy. However, this is because pregnant women are more prone to picking up stomach bugs and other illnesses. Pregnancy itself doesn’t usually cause diarrhoea.
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Instead, look out for these common signs of early pregnancy:
Read more about the early signs of pregnancy or get the lowdown on when to take a pregnancy test.
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What Happens If You Get A Stomach Bug While Pregnant
Unfortunately, gastroenteritis is quite common during pregnancy. A study conducted in Sweden suggests that as many as one-third of women will experience the disease during their pregnancy. Gastroenteritis symptoms can be severe, causing dehydration and even preterm labor in cases that are severe and go untreated.
A Condition Unrelated To Pregnancy
Its easy to blame everything on pregnancy when youre pregnant, but its possible your symptoms are unrelated.
When it comes to diarrhea, the cause could be a virus, food poisoning, or even medications youre taking.
What to do: If diarrhea in pregnancy is persistent or you cant get to the root of the problem, talk to your healthcare provider right away. He might suggestion various medications or activated charcoal in the case of food poisoning.
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Spotting Or Light Bleeding
Its not unusual at all to have light spotting or bleeding in early pregnancy in fact, it can occur in around 20% of pregnancies.
Dr Larisa explains the science behind it: “This is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy and is usually associated with ‘implantation bleeding‘ when the fertilized egg or embryo attaches to the wall of the uterus. The embryo usually implants between 6 to 12 days after conception.
“Not all women will get spotting though, so dont worry its not a reflection of how successful the implantation has been!”
Forum mum xFran82x says she had implantation bleeding 8 days after ovulating. “I had some watery pink discharge when I wiped a few times,” she says, “and then found 2 dots of brown blood on my pants. I tested the next afternoon and got a faint positive result.”
And it was similar for BabyGirlsMummy: “I had a regular 28 day cycle and the implantation bleeding was about a week before Id have expected my period. Mine was some pink cervical mucus for a couple of days enough that I needed a panty liner.”
If you do bleed, our expert say you should definitely get anything unusual checked out by your doctor. “In most cases, spotting is nothing to worry about,” says Dr Amin, “but it can be a sign of something more serious like an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage. If you experience any bleeding thats not normal for you, seek immediate medical attention.”
Pregnancy And Your Bathroom Habits
Pregnancy can bring about all sorts of changes in your bowels, thanks to changes in your hormones as well as physical shifts that take place as your uterus grows, crowding your internal organs and interfering with how they function the motility of your bowels and the way your body uses fluids.
So although itâs common to become constipated or to develop diarrhea during pregnancy, neither will be a threat to your baby. Even so, you may have to cope with the consequences.
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High Blood Pressure Symptoms In Pregnancy
Pregnancy can cause a temporary increase in blood pressure, which is called gestational hypertension. About 7 percent of pregnant women have gestational hypertension.
If you have high blood pressure before you get pregnant, youre more likely to have it during pregnancy. Youre also more likely to have high blood pressure if youre overweight or obese, if you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease, or if youre African American.
Most women with high blood pressure dont have any symptoms. But sometimes you may have:
Headache
Differences Between Early And Late Miscarriage Symptoms
Although the signs of a miscarriage â including blood or spotting , discharge and abdominal pain â are broadly the same whether the miscarriage is early or late, there are some differences in their specific characteristics.
Late miscarriages often involve:
A greater volume of vaginal discharge and bleeding
More severe abdominal pain
Cramping and abdominal pain are commonly present in miscarriages. However, the severity of the pain and cramps is greater in a late miscarriage and is unlikely to respond to traditional pain-relieving techniques such as taking a hot bath, lying in certain positions or taking over-the-counter pain-relief medications suitable for pregnant people.
More severe back pain
Back pain can occur in both early and late miscarriage. It is possible to experience back pain throughout pregnancy without it relating to a miscarriage, as it is a normal side-effect of carrying a growing fetus in the womb. However, intense pain in the lower back is commonly a feature of late miscarriage. It results from the muscles in the lower back working to expel the unborn baby.
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Heres How Pregnancy Affects Your Poop
You already know that your hormones fluctuate throughout your menstrual cycle, and you might also know that these hormonal changes can make your poop real weird around the time of your period. Thats largely thanks to a hormone that helps prep your body for pregnancy called progesterone.
Progesterone levels increase after ovulation, anticipating that the egg your ovaries just released will be fertilized, the U.S. National Library of Medicine explains. If you dont become pregnant, progesterone levels fall back down, and you get your period. If the egg does get fertilized and you do become pregnant, your levels of progesterone will continue to rise, Mary Rosser, M.D., Ph.D., an ob-gyn at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, tells SELF.
How does this early pregnancy progesterone surge affect poop? One of the hormones many effects is to relax smooth muscles, like your uterus and intestines. While relaxed intestines might sound like a recipe for the loose, speedy bowel movements that characterize diarrhea, that isnt what actually happens. In fact, without your GI muscles contracting as hard to move things along, food passage starts to slow down and bowel movements become sluggish, G. Thomas Ruiz, M.D., an ob-gyn at Memorial Care Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, tells SELF.
Diarrhea In The Third Trimester
Experiencing pregnancy diarrhea near your due date? Loose stools could mean your body is preparing for delivery. Toward the end of pregnancy, your body releases prostaglandins that help soften the cervix. These hormones could also soften bowel movements. While this may sound yucky, keep in mind past generations of mothers were given enemas when they started labor. Loose stools are typically natures way of clearing things out.
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Light Bleeding Or Spotting
Implantation bleeding is the light vaginal bleeding that typically occurs about 10 to 14 days after conception. It shouldnt cause anything more than mild spotting, which you may notice in your underwear. Implantation bleeding can also be accompanied by mild cramps that resemble the cramps of menstruation.
If the bleeding is heavy or if the cramping is severe, contact a health care provider for advice.
So I’ve Got Some Of These Symptoms Am I Definitely Pregnant
Frustratingly, as we’ve already explained, many of the signs and symptoms of early pregnancy we’ve details above are the same as, or can be easily confused with, the signs and symptoms of PMS or the signs and symptoms that your period’s on its way.
Some of the signs nausea, breast tenderness, mood swings, and a frequent need to wee are, anecdotally, more common signs of pregnancy than others. But you could be pregnant without experiencing any of them. And you may not be pregnant even if you experience them all.
“We will all experience the first signs of pregnancy in completely different ways,” says Dr Amin Gorgy. There is no specific way that you should feel. We are all individuals.”
As wise forum mum gazsgirl says, “Everyone is different and most symptoms are so like period ones, its always hard to know until you see the line.”
Time to take a test if you havent already…
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Pregnancy Bleeding And Swollen Gums
You may not have expected pregnancy to affect your mouth. But your blood circulation and hormone levels can make your gums tender and swollen, and you may notice they bleed more easily. You may also develop nose bleeds.
Recommendations:
- Get a dental checkup early in your pregnancy to make sure your teeth and mouth are healthy. See your dentist if you notice a particular problem.
- Brush your teeth, floss regularly and rinse daily with an antiseptic mouthwash.
How To Prevent Diarrhea During Pregnancy
The key to preventing diarrhea during early pregnancy is again dietary modification. Foods that are natural laxatives like prunes can cause diarrhea, as can eating fatty food, spicy food and milk products etc. Fatty or spicy foods can be difficult for the body to digest sometimes and consequently cause diarrhea. As mentioned before, increased milk intake can cause diarrhea in lactose intolerant women. Such pregnant women should try some other source of calcium to prevent this form of diarrhea.
Drinks with high sugar content like sodas or energy drinks should also be avoided during pregnancy, as they too can disturb digestion. They are also a major source of weight gain in pregnant women. The right drinks are very important during pregnancy you should stay away from grape juices, cokes, coffee, tea and energy drinks to prevent diarrhea in pregnancy. Sports drinks, however, can be a good choice for you because they are packed with electrolytes that can help rehydrate you. But be sure to pick the right sports drink after consulting your doctor as not all drinks have positive effects.
Besides diarrhea, you may also experience a myriad of other symptoms in early pregnancy, what are the symptoms? Watch to learn:
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When Should I See A Doctor With Diarrhoea And/or Vomiting In Pregnancy
See your GP if:
- the diarrhoea or vomiting does not go away within 48 hours
- you are unable to keep any fluids down.
If you cant get to your GP surgery you may be able to organise a telephone appointment.
DO NOT take any medication to stop diarrhoea in pregnancy, such as Imodium, without speaking to your GP, midwife or pharmacist first.
There are many medicines that can be unsafe to take during pregnancy. So its always best to ask your doctor, midwife, pharmacist or dentist before you take anything. Find out more about drugs and medicines in pregnancy.
Speak to your GP, midwife or a hospital doctor as soon as possible if you have:
Diarrhea Before Period: When To Worry
Apart from hormonal changes that are beyond your control, you could have diarrhea for a different reason. Sometimes, it could be due to what youve eaten, other times it could be due to a serious health problem.
In fact, you should see your doctor immediately if you are experiencing any of these symptoms
If you have any of these signs, dont wait, talk to a doctor about your symptoms quickly. Here are some reasons you have diarrhea before your period that wont go away
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Drinking Lots Of Water
During week 1, its smart to set up healthy lifestyle habits to maintain through your entire pregnancy.
For many moms-to-be, it can be tough to give up alcohol. But doing so is important for the health of your future baby.
Its also a good idea during week 1 to give up sugary drinks, which can also be bad for the health of your baby not to mention you!
We know that this is tough. But instead of grabbing that can of cola or bottle er, glass of wine, hydrate with the recommended 8 to 11 glasses of water every day. Besides, its good practice for when youre pregnant and need to drink even more.
Sooois Pooping A Lot One Of The Signs Of Early Pregnancy
Actually, this is a bit of a myth, says Temeka Zore, MD, a board-certified ob-gyn and reproductive endocrinologist at Spring Fertility. Pooping a lot isn’t linked to the beginning of most pregnancies. In fact, constipation is more likely.
Hormonal changes, particularly during the menstrual cycle, can have an affect on bowels, especially for people with IBS, research has found. But without a regular cycle during pregnancy, you may not notice the same digestive patterns that you might have during menstruation.
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During the early stages of pregnancy, the first thing youll probably notice is your period dropping off. Then, its common to experience nausea or vomiting, breast tenderness, fatigue, and increased urination, says Dr. Zore. Bloating and cramping, particularly of the uterus, are also some things you should be prepared for. Its important to note that most of these unpleasant symptoms wont last for too long in your pregnancy .
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