Daniela Knaan
UX/UI Designer at - AdobeWhy does digestion slow down in pregnancy?
During pregnancy, several hormonal and physiological changes occur in your body, including those that affect the digestive system. Here’s why digestion tends to slow down during pregnancy:
- Hormonal Changes: Hormones play a significant role in pregnancy, and some of them, such as progesterone, can cause the relaxation of smooth muscle tissue throughout the body, including the muscles in the gastrointestinal tract. This relaxation decreases the motility or movement of food through the digestive system, resulting in slower digestion.
- Uterine Growth: As your uterus expands to accommodate the growing fetus, it can compress the surrounding organs, including the stomach and intestines. This pressure can further contribute to decreased motility in the digestive tract, leading to slower digestion and sometimes causing symptoms like heartburn and constipation.
- Increased Nutrient Absorption: While digestion may slow down, your body becomes more efficient at absorbing nutrients from food during pregnancy. This is important to ensure you and your baby receive the necessary nutrients for growth and development. However, the trade-off is that it can prolong the time it takes for food to move through the digestive system.
- Changes in Diet and Eating Habits: You may experience changes in your diet and eating habits due to nausea, food aversions, or cravings. These changes can sometimes lead to consuming foods that are higher in fat or less fibrous, which may contribute to slower digestion and constipation.
How can we improve digestion?
Improving digestion during pregnancy can greatly enhance your comfort and overall well-being. Here are some tips I often recommend:
- Stay Hydrated: Drinking plenty of water is essential for maintaining healthy digestion, especially during pregnancy when the body’s fluid needs increase. Adequate hydration helps soften stool and promote regular bowel movements, reducing the risk of constipation. Aim for at least 8-10 glasses of water a day, and consider increasing intake during hot weather or if you’re physically active.
- Eat High-Fiber Foods: Including fiber-rich foods in your diet can help promote regular bowel movements and alleviate constipation. Opt for whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts, which are excellent sources of dietary fiber. Gradually increase fiber intake to prevent gas and bloating, and be sure to drink plenty of water to help fiber move through your digestive system effectively.
- Choose Small, Frequent Meals: Eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day can help prevent overloading your digestive system and minimize symptoms like heartburn and indigestion. Aim to eat every 2-3 hours, and focus on nutrient-dense foods that provide sustained energy and support overall health.
- Practice Mindful Eating: Take your time to chew food thoroughly and savor each bite. Mindful eating not only aids digestion but also helps prevent overeating and promotes better nutrient absorption. Avoid rushing through meals or eating while distracted, as this can contribute to digestive discomfort.
- Avoid Trigger Foods: Certain foods and beverages can exacerbate digestive issues during pregnancy. Common triggers include spicy foods, greasy or fried foods, caffeine, carbonated drinks, and artificial sweeteners. Pay attention to how your body responds to different foods, and consider keeping a food diary to identify and avoid triggers that worsen digestive symptoms.
- Stay Active: Regular physical activity can help stimulate digestion and prevent constipation. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week, such as walking, swimming, prenatal yoga, or low-impact aerobics. Always consult your healthcare provider before starting or modifying an exercise routine during pregnancy.
- Consider Probiotics: Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that help maintain a healthy and balanced gut flora and support digestive function. Talk to your healthcare provider about whether probiotic supplements or probiotic-rich foods, such as yogurt, kefir, and fermented vegetables, may be good for you during pregnancy.
- Manage Stress: Chronic stress can negatively impact digestion and exacerbate gastrointestinal symptoms. Incorporate stress-reduction techniques into your daily routine, such as prenatal yoga for deep breathing exercises, meditation, and gentle movement.
- Prioritize self-care and relaxation to support your physical and mental well-being during pregnancy.
Why is Yoga beneficial to your digestion?
Stress relief
Yoga practices often incorporate techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and mindful movement, which can help reduce stress levels. Stress can negatively impact digestion by activating the body’s “fight or flight” response. Yoga can help restore balance to the digestive system by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, the state of “Rest-and-digest”.
Stimulation
Yoga stimulates the digestive organs. Certain yoga poses, particularly those that involve twists, gentle compressions, and forward folds, can help stimulate the digestive organs, including the stomach, intestines, and liver. These poses create gentle pressure on the abdomen, which improves blood circulation to the digestive organs and enhances their function. Additionally, movements that involve gentle twists can help wring out toxins and waste materials from the digestive tract, promoting detoxification and regularity.
Improved blood flow
Improved blood flow to the digestive organs through yoga can enhance their efficiency in breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and eliminating waste products. Poses that encourage blood flow to the abdominal area such as forward bends and gentle inversions, can be particularly beneficial for supporting healthy digestion.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is central to yoga practice, emphasizing present-moment awareness and non-judgmental acceptance. By cultivating mindfulness, you might become more attuned to your body’s hunger and satiety cues, as well as your emotional relationship with food. This heightened awareness can promote healthier eating habits, such as eating slowly, chewing food thoroughly, and paying attention to the flavors and textures of meals.
Many yoga poses target areas of the body commonly affected by digestive discomfort, such as the abdomen and lower back. Gentle stretches and movements can help alleviate tension and tightness in these areas, reducing symptoms like bloating, cramping, and indigestion. Additionally, relaxation and deep breathing techniques practiced in yoga can help calm the nervous system and ease digestive discomfort associated with stress and anxiety.
Yoga poses for better digestion
Yoga poses stretching, twisting, and compressing the abdomen to improve blood flow and organ function, leading to improved digestion. Although in pregnancy you are not supposed to practice certain poses like closed twists and stretches that put too much pressure on your abdomen, there are a variety of poses you can practice to improve digestion.
- Triangle Pose
- Downward facing Dog
- Child`s Pose
- Open Twists
- Cat and Cow
These are only a few to be named!
Try this yoga flow!
Final Words
Slow digestion in pregnancy is quite normal, and as you see there is a lot you can do about this!
Stress relieving practices, healthy nutrition, and staying active are all important to the well-being of you and your baby! Enjoy the prenatal yoga flow, and let me know in the comments if it helped!
