Why drowsiness, odor intolerance, constipation, nausea occur during pregnancy

Despite the fact that pregnancy is a physiological, i.e. normal, condition of a woman, its onset brings some disruptions to the body. Sometimes these disruptions can be so significant that they begin to border on a disease.

Sleepiness during pregnancy

You already know that this is one of the signs of pregnancy. Almost all pregnant women note that with its onset, the desire to sleep increases many times over. This is due to an increase in the level of the hormone progesterone, whose task is to maintain the pregnancy, including in such a "soothing" way. This is a "hint" from the body that the life that has arisen inside you needs to be protected. And to do this, you need to run and jump less, and rest more alone with nature and yourself. Increase your night sleep - go to bed earlier, and during the day try to carve out half an hour or an hour for daytime rest.

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Intolerance to odors and irritability

Pregnant women often become very sensitive to certain smells, get irritated at the slightest provocation, even a harmless joke said to them can cause a storm of anger or, on the contrary, bitter resentment and a "waterfall" of tears. All this is associated with both hormonal changes in the body and with a change in the water composition of the brain. We have already said that the brain of a pregnant woman "dries up" by 10-40%, which leads to memory and emotional disorders.

Constipation during pregnancy

More than half of women complain of constipation during pregnancy, and some continue to experience difficulty with bowel movements after childbirth. There are several reasons for constipation. The first reason is hormonal changes in the body. Hormones that ensure pregnancy weaken intestinal peristalsis (movement). In fact, they are designed to reduce, or rather completely eliminate uterine contractions, and at the same time weaken intestinal peristalsis. The second reason is changes in water balance. The pregnant woman's body tends to retain water, so water absorption from the large intestine is much more intense and feces become much drier than usual. The third reason is that the growing uterus compresses not only the bladder, but also the intestines, contributing to constipation. The fourth reason is emotional disorders. This is due to the fact that the work of the intestines is controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which begins to suffer when the activity of the central nervous system is disrupted. And the last, fifth reason is anal fissures. Cracks occur during constipation. During subsequent acts of defecation, the anus becomes very painful, and bloody discharge from the cracks may appear. This leads to the woman, instinctively afraid of pain, "postponing" a visit to the toilet until later, when it will be impossible to endure, thereby creating conditions for the aggravation of constipation.

If the intestines are not emptied for a long time, the feces stagnate and begin to rot. Toxic products, among which the most dangerous are indole and skatole, begin to be absorbed into the blood, worsening the state of health. The pregnant woman experiences or intensifies nausea, vomiting, headache. In addition, overflow of the intestines leads to painful sensations in the abdomen.

How to combat constipation? First, you need to try to calm down to relieve tension in the autonomic nervous system; second, change your diet. You need to include more fiber-containing foods in your diet. It swells in the intestines and sweeps out all of its contents like a broom, as the stool becomes softer. Fiber is found in beets, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, and pumpkins. In addition to vegetables, you should also include fruits in your diet: apricots, peaches, bananas, plums, which also contain fiber. To normalize the intestinal microflora, you should include fermented milk products in your diet: yogurts, kefir, acidophilus milk. Normalization of the intestinal microflora will lead to the disappearance of putrefactive bacteria, which will help eliminate constipation to some extent.

Pregnant women should eat dried fruits. They contain a lot of potassium, which is necessary for contraction of smooth muscles of the intestine.

If all these "dietary" measures do not help, then you need to try folk laxatives. You should start with vegetable oil. One or two tablespoons should be taken in the morning on an empty stomach. Some people are helped by eating a large amount of prunes. And for some, it is enough to drink a glass of water in the morning with or without honey.

If these measures do not bring "relief", then you need to see a doctor. You cannot take laxatives on your own! I hope you still remember that intestinal peristalsis and uterine contractions are interconnected. If the intestines begin to peristaltize intensely, then you may be at risk of miscarriage, since the uterus will begin to contract after the intestines.

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Varicose veins and pregnancy

Very often, it is during pregnancy that women begin to have problems with the veins on their legs. Varicose veins, in general, are a genetically predisposed disease. If your mother has varicose veins, then most likely you will have the same problem. But despite this, it is possible and necessary to fight it.

The mechanism of its occurrence is that the pregnant uterus compresses large veins in the abdominal cavity and blood stagnation occurs in the lower parts of the body, that is, in the legs. This leads to the valves located in the veins of the lower extremities (they are not present in other veins) ceasing to hold blood and the veins expand even more, which leads to blood stagnation and increased thrombus formation.

How to fight varicose veins? First of all, you need to do everything possible to prevent it. Stop wearing stockings that squeeze the leg in the upper part of the thigh, knee-highs, various garters and anything that worsens the outflow of blood from the legs. After a long walk and especially after a long standing, you need to lie on your back across the bed with your feet towards the wall and lean your legs up on it. The blood will flow away from the legs, and you will immediately feel relief. After this, you need to take a warm bath followed by pouring cold water over your legs (contrast baths).

If varicose veins already exist, then it is necessary to buy special elastic stockings or elastic bandages and put them on (or bandage) while still lying in bed, without getting up. Only then can you get up and start doing housework or production activities. In this case, the stockings or bandages will to some extent replace the venous valves that have lost their functions.

Leucorrhoea and itching during pregnancy

Some women have leucorrhoea already in childhood, while others have it at the time of puberty. Leucorrhoea is an increased discharge from the uterus and vagina. Normally, it is insignificant. Usually, it is colorless, glassy, rarely white. With leucorrhoea, the discharge becomes white-yellow, sticky, thick, and sometimes flaky and lumpy.

During pregnancy, discharge increases because the pregnant woman's pelvis is filled with blood, and the tissue that is overfilled with blood allows more body secretions to pass through. The causes of leucorrhoea are different. Most often, it is an incorrect position of the uterus, general weakness, anemia, and constipation.

Every woman who experiences leucorrhoea should consult a doctor as soon as possible, because in some cases leucorrhoea is caused by a venereal disease - gonorrhea. And the sooner you start treatment, the faster and more likely you can be cured. But leucorrhoea caused by other reasons also needs to be treated, because it exhausts a woman and is generally unpleasant.

During pregnancy, douching should not be done, which in some cases is a method of treatment for leucorrhoea. Douching can stimulate contractions of the uterus and, therefore, lead to miscarriage or at least facilitate the penetration of infection.

To combat leucorrhoea, it is enough to take sitz baths every day, or even twice a day, or just wash yourself with soap and water or chamomile infusion. If the leucorrhoea is very abundant and corrodes the skin, it is recommended to wear a sanitary pad and change it more often.

Increased leucorrhoea causes, in addition to other unpleasant sensations, itching. Sometimes it is very painful and even excruciating. Itching in the external genitals can be experienced without leucorrhoea, simply because these organs are filled with blood. In both cases, it is enough to take a sitz bath or simply wash yourself. You should wash yourself with clean hands or a washcloth, which is intended only for this purpose. It should be boiled often, and after each wash, washed and dried. In addition to soap and chamomile decoction, you can wash yourself with oak bark decoction. If the itching is especially excruciating, you should consult a doctor.

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Cramps in the calf muscles

Muscle cramps occur when there is a lack of calcium in the body. During pregnancy, calcium from the pregnant woman's blood is intensively used to build the skeleton of the future child. Most often, cramps "grab" the calf muscles, and at night more often than during the day. This is due to the fact that during the day, blood circulation is much more intense than at night, and even in conditions of insufficient calcium in the blood, its supply to the muscles is maintained at the minimum acceptable level. And at night, when the blood flows more slowly, much less calcium is supplied to the muscles and cramps occur.

If you feel a cramp in your calf muscle, quickly grab your toes with your hands and pull hard (especially your big toe). This stretches the calf muscle without allowing it to contract.

You can prevent cramps by eating foods rich in calcium - cheese, cottage cheese, milk.

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Heartburn during pregnancy

Heartburn is very common in pregnant women. The usual measures - drinking water, taking soda or magnesium oxide - are either ineffective or do not help at all.

Heartburn during pregnancy is caused by the fact that the pressure of the uterus on the stomach increases (especially in the lying position) and leads to the reflux of acidic stomach contents into the esophagus.

To avoid heartburn, you need to take a body position so that the uterus puts less pressure on the stomach. You need to eat small portions, more often and not overeat. It is especially harmful to overeat at night.