What causes bloating in pregnant women?

As we all know, if we eat indigestible foods like starch, our stomachs will swell due to indigestion. This situation also applies to pregnant women. However, there are more reasons for pregnant women to have bloating in their stomachs. So, what is the reason for bloating in pregnant women?

First, in the early stages of pregnancy, it is caused by changes in hormone secretion. At this time, the progesterone content in the pregnant woman's body increases, which weakens gastrointestinal motility and reduces gastric acid secretion, thus hindering digestive activity. For most pregnant women, bloating is most severe during the first three months of pregnancy, and will gradually subside after this period. So this is a normal phenomenon and has no effect on the baby's health.

Secondly, in the middle and late stages of pregnancy, the uterus expands, pressing on the intestines, making it difficult for the intestines to move. If the pregnant woman already has gastrointestinal diseases, such as constipation, bloating, and poor motility, the bloating during pregnancy may last until about four or five months of pregnancy.

Finally, some improper dietary structures can also cause bloating in pregnant women, such as frequently eating gas-producing foods such as beans, starches, pasta, broccoli and carbonated drinks.

Western medicine’s view: Hormonal changes cause constipation and bloating. During pregnancy, due to changes in hormones in the body, the secretion of progesterone becomes significantly more active. Although this hormone can inhibit the contraction of uterine muscles to prevent miscarriage, it will also slow down the body's intestinal peristalsis, causing not only morning sickness, nausea, vomiting, and gastric acid reflux into the esophagus in the early stages of pregnancy, but also constipation, which will cause discomfort in the entire gastrointestinal tract. After the second half of pregnancy, the gradually enlarging uterus will push the stomach upward and also compress the rectum, causing excessive absorption of intestinal water and making defecation difficult. When constipation is severe, bloating will become more obvious.

TCM perspective: Changes in eating habits From the perspective of modern TCM, bloating during pregnancy may not be directly related to the fetus. It is more likely to be caused by changes in eating habits. For example, eating a lot of tonic food during pregnancy may cause difficulty in digestion, or pregnant women may consume more foods that are easy to produce gas due to changes in taste.

From the above, it can be seen that abdominal bloating in pregnant women may be caused by factors such as diet, intestinal compression and changes in hormone secretion. In addition, the causes of abdominal bloating in pregnant women can also be analyzed from two different aspects: Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine.