Is Diarrhea A Sign Of Pregnancy Implantation: All Questions Answered
It is common to have stomach and digestive issues during pregnancy. The phenomenon of morning sickness and constipation is well-known; diarrhea is rare but not unheard of. It does not get as much attention as the other gastrointestinal issues which most pregnant people face. Diarrhea is usually not linked to morning sickness, nor is it considered an early sign of pregnancy. As a matter of fact, diarrhea can occur in any trimester.
And yet some people do consider diarrhea to be an early sign of pregnancy. Hormonal changes in the first few days of conception and then in the first few weeks of pregnancy could quite possibly cause stomach problems that, in turn, lead to diarrhea. Certain other symptoms like fatigue, breast tenderness, and nausea are much more common in the first trimester.
There is a common belief that diarrhea can be harmful to the baby and increase the chances of a miscarriage. But is diarrhea a sign of pregnancy implantation? The abdominal cramping that occurs along with diarrhea could feel like the pain of a possible loss of pregnancy, which has led to such misconceptions. The gastrointestinal tract is a completely different system from that of the reproductive ones. It is pretty unlikely that a petty case of diarrhea could put your baby at risk. Remember to stay hydrated and treat any infection that you may have.
However, diarrhea in late pregnancy could be a sign that your delivery is getting closer. Many women have reported diarrhea, nausea, heartburn, and/or vomiting right before going into labor. Of course, it could happen due to other reasons, too, such as infections and food poisoning occurring throughout the pregnancy.
Causes Of Diarrhea
Diarrhea while you are pregnant, could happen due to a hoard of reasons, such as changes in your diet, a stomach virus, hormones, and so on. Some of the reasons you could be affected by diarrhea during pregnancy are:
Body Changes
During pregnancy, there are bound to be shifts in your hormones and your body. The growing uterus inside your body starts to crowd your digestive system, causing changes in your bowel system, and leading to constipation, diarrhea, or vomiting.
Prenatal Vitamins
The vitamins you are taking could be the culprit. Certain brands have side effects that cause constipation in some and diarrhea in others. If you think your vitamins are not sitting well with you, ask your doctor to change them to another brand.
Diet
A sudden shift in eating habits could result in a change in bowel movements. You may be driven to eat healthy knowing that you are expecting a baby. But going from burgers and pizzas to fruits and greens could be overwhelming for your digestive system to process. Sometimes intake of large quantities of grapes and berries could cause diarrhea.
Diarrhea in pregnancy could also be due to reasons not related to pregnancy. Some of them are:
- A virus or bacteria
- Preexisting health issues such as Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, or hyperthyroidism
- Certain antibiotics
- Traveling
- Food poisoning
Is Diarrhea A Sign Of Pregnancy Implantation?
If you start to doubt that you could be pregnant and you experience a change in your bowel movements, especially if it’s diarrhea, many women tend to believe it’s a reassurance of their pregnancy being true.
Most women who experience diarrhea in their early days of pregnancy are simply a sign that their body is adapting to all the hormonal changes that their body is undergoing. Many things happen in the first few days after conception. Once the egg is fertilized by the sperm, the embryo moves to the uterus for implantation.
The embryo is self-sufficient in its needs and has everything to stay in the uterus for the first few days. The digestive system is usually the first to be affected by the consequent shift of the hormones following implantation. It will affect your bowel movement, causing you to either suffer from diarrhea or constipation or sometimes both.
Can Diarrhea Be A Sign Of Early Pregnancy?
If you are looking for signs or having thoughts that you might be pregnant, then diarrhea could be a cause behind it. Often in early pregnancy, when the body starts adapting itself to the change in hormones, women experience a change in their bowel movements and often get diarrhea.
In the first few days after conceiving, a lot of changes happen. Once the sperm fertilizes the egg, the embryo moves toward the uterus to get implanted. The embryo contains everything it requires, and the digestive system first experiences this hormonal shift. As a result, it is not unusual to get diarrhea or constipation.
You might get the following symptoms if you are pregnant:
- Suddenly disliking your favorite food.
- You start holding your breath when you walk past a garbage truck or a smoker.
- When you start getting irritated at the smallest things that never bothered you before.
Some of the pre-menstrual signs are similar to the early pregnancy symptoms. This is sometimes misleading if you are eagerly waiting for some good news. Diarrhea is also a sign of pregnancy, but it is not talked about often. But diarrhea is not always a sign a pregnancy as well. So, it is better to take a test or consult a doctor for confirmation.
Can Diarrhea Be A Cause Of Morning Sickness?
Morning sickness is something that causes a woman to vomit and nausea. This mainly starts six weeks after you have conceived. It also vanished by the time you reach your 20th week of pregnancy. But in some cases the duration extends and sometimes lasts till the full term of pregnancy.
The main reason behind morning sickness is not clearly known, but it is believed that it happens because of hormonal changes. Symptoms naturally include vomiting and nausea. It seems fit to include diarrhea in this category as this is also something that will make you feel weary. But this is not actually a symptom of morning sickness. Morning sickness is mainly when you are nauseated and vomiting.
Symptoms Of Pregnancy
If you are looking for the telltale signs of being pregnant, here are a few:
- A complete loss of appetite
- You feel yourself gag when passing by a smoker or a garbage truck
- You become extremely sensitive around your breast
And yet most of these are also signs of premenstrual syndrome. Being a woman was never easy. And it does not particularly help that you are desperate to know if you are pregnant or not. Diarrhea is a rare but valid sign of you being pregnant, as it is known to be experienced in a certain percentage of women. But it isn’t the most dire sign either.
Diarrhea does not make for polite conversation, which has led to this particular condition being swept under the rug. It gets hectic enough for women to admit that they are puking all the time.
Diarrhea simply isn’t a reliable indicator of a pregnancy if you are hoping for it to be. Your best bet still is a pregnancy kit.
Symptoms Of Diarrhea
Diarrhea is a condition when your bowel movements are loose in consistency compared to your normal. The stool could be watery or softer than usual. Diarrhea happens in a way that necessitates you to go to the washroom quickly and frequently. Here are some signs to watch out for:
- Cramping
- Stomach pain
- Bloating
- The urgency to visit the toilet
- More than two loose bowel movements in a day
Treatment
When you are pregnant, experiencing morning sickness and heartburn is common. Similar to these gastrointestinal problems, diarrhea is another uncomfortable symptom you will have to weather. In case your diarrhea does not clear within a few days, contact your medical provider for other necessary treatments.
Hydration
It is extremely important for you to hydrate, especially while pregnant. Diarrhea can quickly drain your body fluids, causing dehydration. Taking plenty of fluids, mostly water, can help rehydrate.
Losing electrolytes is also an issue when you have diarrhea, and other liquids such as vegetable and chicken broth and electrolyte-rich solutions can help too
It is advisable to avoid sugary drinks, dairy, tea, coffee, and certain energy drinks that make your diarrhea worsen. And do not forget to drink plenty of water, even if you don’t feel like it.
Diet
Easily digestible foods help by being non-irritable to your digestive tract, stimulating the stomach to absorb nutrients more effectively. The BRAT diet containing Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast is the most commonly recommended by doctors. Other digestible foods like chicken, potatoes, lean meats, vegetable sauce, bread, and pasta are also good. You should stay away from spicy, fried, high-fat foods, which can aggravate diarrhea.
Understand that the flipside of diarrhea is constipation which again causes trouble through hard stools. This happens when you overdo the BRAT diet. Constipation is really uncomfortable, but it does not pose a risk for your baby. Constipation is also a result of hormonal changes and the crowding of the uterus on the digestive tract. If you drink lots of water and fiber while also staying active will help treat constipation.
Rest Easy
Diarrhea is known to clear on its own. If your diarrhea is mild without any other symptoms, such as pain, fever, and cramping, you could tough it out. Loose stools that result from a bug or bad food often go away on their own.
Maintain Good Hygiene
Diarrhea can make it easier for bacteria in the colon to get into the urinary tract that can cause the infamous infection UTI- Urinary Tract Infection. Being clean can prevent germs and bacteria from traveling to other parts of your body as well as affect other people. Always make sure you clean front to back with toilet paper and use another tissue to wipe a second time. Keeping your undergarments clean and washing your hands as many times as possible can help maintain good hygiene.
- Our Advice
Avoid over-the-counter medications to help get rid of your diarrhea. The OTC medications you take may not be safe for you during pregnancy. Before getting worked up about is diarrhea a sign of pregnancy implantation, consult your medical provider or OBGYN if you think any of your symptoms need medication. Let your doctor prescribe the medicine based on symptoms and pregnancy factors.
Can Diarrhea Be Dangerous
Diarrhea is mild and self-curing. But it can get serious. Losing water due to frequent bowel movements can lead to dehydration-something that poses a risk to your baby. Stay alert about the signs of dehydration:
Fatigue
If you are suffering from dehydration, you tend to feel more tired than usual. This mainly happens because dehydration effects every single aspect of your health, which also includes you sleep cycle.
Hydration of your body largely affects how much you are going to sleep and how often. If you are dehydrated, you keep on losing your well-deserved sleep, which results in you feeling more fatigued than usual.
Darker Urine
If you are not drinking enough of your fluids, your urine will have a dark color and you might not pee as much.
In fact, the color of your urine largely determines if you are suffering from dehydration.
Dark color urine usually happens when your body conserves more water and does not release it through the urine. For this exact reason, your urine becomes way more concentrated with all the waste products from your body, like urea and sodium.
The goal for you here is not to have a fully clear urine. You must always aim for a pale yellow urine which is ideal for the human body.
Think of all the other factors that might affect the color of your urine, like the use of certain medications of Vitamin B, which turns your urine bright yellow.
Dry Skin, Lack Of Elasticity, And Cracked Lips
Dry skin and cracked lips are two of the most common symptoms of dehydration. Losing the elasticity of your skin is also something you need to look out for. If your body is not hydrated enough, none of the expensive skincare that you use will work out ever.
Chapped lips and dry skin might also be a symptom for other health conditions, so it is important to get it diagnosed particularly when you are experiencing these even after drinking plenty of water every day.
Headaches
When your body is not getting all the fluids that it need, you tend to get more headaches than usual. Even when headaches are strongly related to dehydration, there is not enough proof that can justify why you get headaches because of dehydration.
One theory suggests that a reduction of fluid in your body leads to the stretching of the blood channels in your brain, which mainly causes headaches.
Dizziness Or Lightheadedness
Dehydration might cause you to feel way more dizzy and lightheaded, particularly when you stand up. Orthostatic hypotension is the term that refers to reduce blood pressure when you sit or stand.
Dehydration might result in orthostatic hypotension. This is way more common in older adults, who are more at risk of developing hypovolemia or dehydration.
Heart Palpitations
Dehydration causes heart symptoms such as palpitation or a feeling of fluttering, pounding, or irregular heartbeat.
Not having enough fluids might negatively affect your overall health, which also includes your heart health.
As per reviews, dehydration might impair heart function in multiple ways, which includes adversely affecting functions of the blood vessel and altering the regulation of blood pressure.
Low Blood Pressure
Low blood pressure is a major sign of dehydration, which only happens if an individual suffers from significant dehydration.
Dehydration results in a low volume of blood, which means a low amount of fluid circulating in your veins, capillaries, arteries, and chambers of the heart.
Conclusion
So, you are asking, is diarrhea a sign of pregnancy implantation. If you are having diarrhea and you are worrying that it will cause a problem for your pregnancy, stop right there. Diarrhea isn’t the most typical cause or symptom that you might be having a miscarriage.
Some people may experience diarrhea when they have a pregnancy loss, but that does not make it the marker for it. It is entirely possible for you to get diarrhea while you are pregnant, but it almost never affects the pregnancy. If there is anything that is causing you to worry about yourself and your baby, you must immediately contact a medical provider to ensure safety.
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