digestive

[anjiezbaby2012]

please help me i am 8 weeks pregnant and am  very constipated my ob doc said to take a mild laxative it's not working, what else can i do?

[illsurvive]

try prounes dry fuit. it reallly helps

[1stxmommy]

Apple juice or beets

[Lesley27]

also try dried apricots, i just had my health nurse swear by them for my daughter...she says they work better than prunes... i used colace (docusate sodium) for my first pregnancy.... its not just the high iron in the prenatal its because your digestive track has slown down quite a bit so more moisture is being taken from the BM, making it harder... so definitly drink water! my sister ate activia yogurt with 1/3 cup bran buds in it every day, and i have to say the yogurt covers the taste and the cereal gives it a crunch so its definitely do-able... i cant do pune juice but i could handle just prunes... and if you cant do those go for the full fruit version...plums!

Take care and i hope this passes, its an aweful feeling!!

[AnnieBrooke]

As you can see by everyone's suggestions, fiber and stool softeners are not laxatives, and are fine during pregnancy.  Good luck!

[cms22purple]

I take Metamucil every night before bed, lol.  What we won't endure for our children.  Good luck :)

[kimmery]

prune juice! seriously, it works. a glass every morning and night should do the trick. you might even need to scale back to 1 glass a day. good luck

[AnnieBrooke]

Try Benefiber.  It's a mild stool softener.  Check with your doctor, but you can add it to your food every day you're pregnant, if you want.

[ireneo]

This is actually a bird forum so I'll have this moved to the proper forum. I know there are other pregnant women experiencing the same thing. They'll have a lot of suggestions, things that work for them. You don't want to take a laxative for any length of time.

Usually increasing the fiber content in your diet (fresh fruits and veggies, whole grain breads and cereals, etc.) plus lots of fluid (coffee and sodas don't count) help quite a bit. Most often the constipation is triggered by the prenatal vitamins which tend to be much higher in iron (like 60 mg). That just adds to the problem.

By the way, congratulations! I have 3 children (all grown now) and I wanted to pull out my hair at times with them but they have added so much joy to my life. I can't imagine my life without them.