Title: 
What you need to know during Pregnancy

Word Count:
312

Summary:
Constipation is very common in pregnancy. It is caused by decreased bowel motility secondary to elevated progesterone (normal in pregnancy), which can lead to greater absorption of water. The below tips are from my personal experience.


Keywords:
bleeding in pregancy, pregnancy bleeding, miscarriage, implantation bleeding, threatened miscarriage, blighted ovum, complete miscarriage, intrauterin


Article Body:
Constipation is very common in pregnancy. It is caused by decreased bowel motility secondary to elevated progesterone (normal in pregnancy), which can lead to greater absorption of water.

I had twice too. The first happened in the first month. It was terrible. The second one caused my first bleeding in the 13th week of gestation. Therefore, I pay great attention not to have constipation again. And so far I remain quite regular.

The below tips are from my personal experience:

1. Eat more vegetables and fruits daily. Vegetables include broccoli, cabbage, spinach and other dark green leafy greens. Fruits include apples, oranges, pears, strawberries and grapefruits. Bananas are also good, but only eat them occasionally.

2. Eat more fluid food such as soup. Soup contains as much as, if not more, nutrition than regular food and is easy to digest. Plus, soup adds more fluid to your system. For instance, instead of eating double baked potatoes, I make roasted red pepper, leek, and potato cream soup or potato soup with mushrooms and marjoram. Instead of eating roasted chicken, I make cream of chicken soup, chicken noodle soup or tortilla soup with shredded chicken.

3. Drink a lot of water. Drink 6-8 cups of water every day. Sometimes a cup of orange juice or vegetable juice is helpful too. Limit caffeinated beverages such as tea, coffee and soda to no more than 1-2 cups per day. Limit the caffeine intake to less than 300 mg of caffeine – the equivalent of four cups of coffee daily. I virtually just avoid them and only drink water, milk, fruit juice and vegetable juice.

4. Do exercise once a while. A brisk 15-30-minute slow walking twice a week helps the bowel movement. But avoid any vigorous exercise which is not suggested by your practitioner.

Dear readers, do you have any experience with contipation, or tips of fighting against it? Welcome to share your comments!