Introduction
Flatulence during pregnancy means permanent or recurrent accumulation of air in the abdominal area during pregnancy, the causes of which can be varied. Flatulence during pregnancy is very common and there is almost no woman who does not complain of flatulence either during the whole pregnancy or at least partially. As a rule, the excessive air is located in the intestine and thus sometimes extremely inflates the entire abdomen. Relief usually only occurs after repositioning of the body or during the toilet, during which however mainly only air escapes, thus reducing the pressure in the intestinal area. Flatulence can lead to strong to severe pain in the abdominal area and in some cases it may be necessary to take medication to relieve the symptoms.
Causes
There are numerous reasons why flatulence can occur during pregnancy. A very common cause is the changed pressure and position in the woman’s abdomen during pregnancy. For example, flatulence has spread through the child growing in the uterus and displaced neighbouring organs, such as the stomach and intestines, in their position.
Although the intestine and stomach are very elastic and flexible, it can still happen that the otherwise smooth intestinal passage is stopped at one point and the intestinal contents pass through some places more slowly, which can lead to gas development. By the end of pregnancy, almost the entire abdominal cavity is filled with the large uterus. Intestinal loops are located at the sides and behind the uterus and must transport the intestinal contents as well as possible.
Another very common cause of flatulence during pregnancy is a sudden lactose intolerance. In this case, an intolerance to lactose can develop from nothing, or a slight, previously unnoticed lactose intolerance can become worse during pregnancy. Reasons for this are not known.
Furthermore, flatulence during pregnancy can be hormonally caused. At the beginning of pregnancy, the hormone progesterone is increasingly released into the pregnant woman’s bloodstream. This hormone ensures that the smooth muscles of the organs in particular relax and work more slowly.
The intestine is covered with smooth muscles, which is why intestinal activity decreases. The food to be digested therefore remains in the intestine longer than usual, which leads to increased intestinal gases being produced. Flatulence is caused by too much air in the intestine.
As a result, the intestine is stretched considerably, which leads to the well-known unpleasant feelings. In addition to the feeling of pressure, other symptoms can also accompany this. The pressure in the intestinal area can be so high that it causes real pain in the intestine and abdomen and also strong wave-like cramps accompany the flatulence.
Due to the increased air in the abdomen, the intestines can also put pressure on the stomach. As a result, the stomach can sometimes no longer hold the gastric acid, which then rises in the esophagus, leading to moderate to severe heartburn during pregnancy. Frequent burping can result.
Furthermore, flatulence can also upset the pregnant woman’s digestion, which sometimes ends in a mushy or thin stool (diarrhoea). Very severe flatulence can lead to serious symptoms, which can be attributed to problems of displacement. It can happen that the distended intestine pushes all organs of the abdominal and thoracic cavity upwards and in extreme cases this can lead to shortness of breath and cardiac arrhythmia (see: Heart stumbling during pregnancy).
With flatulence, excessive air accumulation in the intestinal area occurs for various reasons. This leads to a strong stretching of the wall at certain points of the long and elastic intestine. The intestinal walls are supplied with nerves that can be irritated by this strong stretching.
These irritations either lead to the stretching pain known for flatulence, but can also cause cramps. The cramps are caused by the intestinal muscles reflexively contracting in response to these irritations. A short time later it relaxes again, which leads to the wave-like pain pattern that is classical for cramps.
In addition to some medications, heat is also suitable for treating cramps. Placing a hot water bottle on the stomach can bring relief. The heat causes the vessels in the abdominal area to dilate and the muscles to relax.
Fermentation processes take place in the intestine during food digestion, which are caused by intestinal bacteria. During digestion, carbon dioxide is produced, among other things, which is absorbed through the intestinal wall and transported via the blood to the lungs, where it can then be breathed out. In addition to carbon dioxide, a mixture of hydrogen, nitrogen, methane, ammonia and sulphur is also produced during digestion in the intestine, which leads to a strong odour.
While the chyme travels through the digestive tract within a few days, these gases can flow through the intestine much faster. In the case of flatulence, considerably more gases are produced, which accumulate in the intestine and lead to the foul smelling odours. Some alternative practitioners point out the possibility of fungi in the intestines when winds are particularly strong smelling. However, this has not been medically proven. However, it has been proven that lactose intolerance can lead to particularly foul smelling intestinal gases (see: Lactose intolerance symptoms).
