Normal stools are usually light to dark brown, but during pregnancy, your poop could turn green. Again, don't be alarmed. A lot of times this is triggered by an increase in fiber intake, or more specifically, eating more vegetables and leafy greens.
Early on in your pregnancy, your body starts going through lots of changes, and these can affect your bowel movements, leading to either hard or loose stools. For example, as levels of the hormone progesterone increase, this can cause your digestive system to slow down, often leading to constipation.
Regular pregnancy changes
You also have high levels of pregnancy hormones like progesterone. These changes usually cause constipation, bloating, and gas. Some pregnancy hormones can also lead to faster digestion. While this doesn't cause diarrhea, it can lead to green poop.
Sooo...is 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.
Hormones: Changing hormone levels in early pregnancy cause the intestines to slow down the movement of stool through the bowel. This delay increases the amount of water that the colon absorbs from the stool, which makes it more solid and difficult to pass.
Interestingly, the color of your stools can also change during pregnancy. Normal stools are usually light to dark brown, but during pregnancy, your poop could turn green. Again, don't be alarmed.
Virtually every pregnant woman gets gassy. That's because pregnancy brings a hormonal surge that can slow down your gastrointestinal tract.
Lower abdominal pain is normal during pregnancy and is most common between 18 and 24 weeks. Your growing uterus is pulling and straining the muscles that support it. You may feel sharp pains or just a mild pulling sensation. It often occurs when you cough, sneeze, stand up, sit down, roll over, or during sex.
How does a pregnant belly feel in early pregnancy? For most of your first trimester, you may not feel much, if any, difference in your belly. It will probably be soft and look a little bigger – similar to when you get bloated during your period or after you've eaten a large meal.
Some women may begin noticing the first early signs of pregnancy a week or two after conception, while others will start to feel symptoms closer to four or five weeks after conception. Some women may not feel symptoms until their period is noticeably late, or even farther into pregnancy.
Stretching of the uterus
Symptoms of your uterus stretching may include twinges, aches, or mild discomfort in your uterine or lower abdominal region. This is a normal part of pregnancy and a sign that everything is progressing normally. Watch for spotting or painful cramping.
Bloating may be one of your most frequent and least charming early pregnancy symptoms, first showing up around week 11 and likely lasting throughout your pregnancy up until delivery day.
A person's body goes through many changes throughout pregnancy. These include physical and hormonal changes that can cause excess gas. Gas pain can range from mild discomfort to severe pain throughout the abdomen, back, and chest. A person may also notice bloating and stomach or intestinal cramps.
Bloating during pregnancy is to be expected; it is rarely a cause for concern. Bloating may feel like having an inflated balloon in the belly. Along with constipation, diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), doctors consider bloating to be a functional bowel disorder (FBD) .
Pregnancy gas pain
Gas can cause excruciating abdominal pain. It may stay in one area or travel throughout your belly, back, and chest. According to the Mayo Clinic, women experience more gas during pregnancy due to increased progesterone.
Studies show that lower back pain usually occurs between the fifth and seventh months of being pregnant, although in some cases it begins as early as eight to 12 weeks. Women with pre-existing lower back problems are at higher risk for back pain, and their back pain can occur earlier in their pregnancy.
Stomach pain in the second trimester is often due to round ligament pain. Your womb is expanding and this can cause the ligaments to stretch. This can cause pain in your lower tummy, groin or hips on one or both sides. It is important to get checked by your GP, obstetrician or midwife if you have pain like this.
Early pregnancy bloating and normal bloating feel exactly the same. Your pregnancy bloating may feel slightly more uncomfortable due to the additional symptoms and increased amounts of gas which can worsen gas pains.
At first, these small movements feel like fluttering or "butterflies." Some women say that they feel like gas bubbles. These first flutters are sometimes called "quickening."
Quickening is typically felt low in your belly, near your pubic bone. Early fetal movements are subtle, and your baby is still tiny.
Implantation cramping may be an early sign of pregnancy. Understanding the causes and key differences between implantation cramps and period cramps will help people to recognize them. Implantation cramping is a type of pain sometimes experienced when a fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of the uterus.
Many people experience what seem to be pregnancy symptoms shortly before their period arrives. This happens because the hormone progesterone rises both during early pregnancy and in the premenstrual period. 1 In short, PMS symptoms and early pregnancy symptoms can sometimes be exactly the same.
Some women do notice signs and symptoms that implantation has occurred. Signs may include light bleeding, cramping, nausea, bloating, sore breasts, headaches, mood swings, and possibly a change in basal body temperature. But — and here's the frustrating part — many of these signs are very similar to PMS.