Diarrhea is a digestive disorder that is quite often experienced by pregnant women. Diarrhea during pregnancy is generally self-limiting. However, in order to recover quickly, not a few pregnant women choose to take medicine. To be safer, let's identify the benefits and risks of using diarrhea medicine for pregnant women.
Diarrhea is a condition when a person experiences changes in the density of the stool to become watery or loose stools and defecate more than 3 times a day. Diarrhea can occur at any gestational age, but this complaint most often appears in the third trimester of pregnancy.
Mild diarrhea usually goes away on its own in a few days. However, sometimes it can cause pregnant women to feel tired quickly, have a headache, stomach pain, or fever.
Meanwhile, severe diarrhea or prolonged diarrhea during pregnancy can cause pregnant women to lose a lot of body fluids or become dehydrated. This condition can be dangerous and increase their risk of miscarriage or premature delivery.
Causes of Diarrhea in Pregnant Women
During pregnancy, there are several things that can cause pregnant women to experience diarrhea, including:
Hormonal changes
This factor most often triggers diarrhea in pregnant women. The reason is, hormonal changes can cause pregnant women's digestive system to work faster, so pregnant women are more susceptible to diarrhea.
Change dietary habit
To meet the nutritional needs during pregnancy, not a few pregnant women change their diet. Even with good intentions, sometimes a sudden change in diet can cause diarrhea.
Apart from changing diet, prenatal vitamin supplements taken during pregnancy can sometimes cause diarrhea as a side effect.
Change gastrointestinal sensitivity
During pregnancy, pregnant women's digestive tract may be more sensitive and sensitive to food, even foods that were safe for pregnant women to consume before pregnancy. Changes in the sensitivity of the digestive tract to these foods can also cause diarrhea in pregnant women.
In addition to causes related to pregnancy, diarrhea in pregnant women can also be caused by food poisoning, infections, and certain conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, and colitis.
Diarrhea Drug Usefor pregnant women
There are several diarrhea medications for pregnant women that are sold freely and are actually safe for consumption. However, keep in mind that pregnant women should not take any drugs without the knowledge of the doctor.
So, before taking diarrhea medicine, pregnant women should consult a doctor first, yes.
Before giving the drug, the doctor will perform a physical examination. If needed, the doctor may also perform additional tests, such as blood tests and stool analysis to determine the cause of diarrhea in pregnant women.
Diarrhea medication prescribed will be adjusted to the cause and severity of the pregnant woman's diarrhea. For example, if your diarrhea is caused by a bacterial or parasitic infection, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics.
However, it is important to remember. Not all diarrhea needs to be treated with antibiotics. These drugs are also not all safe for the fetus. So, pregnant women are not recommended to take antibiotics without a doctor's advice.
To treat diarrhea, the doctor may also prescribe antidiarrheal drugs, such as kaolin-pectin. Meanwhile, other diarrhea drugs, such as loperamide, may be best avoided because it has not been proven safe for the fetus.
How to Overcome Diarrhea without Drugs
If pregnant women experience mild diarrhea, there are several ways that pregnant women can do to deal with it without the need to take drugs, including:
- Drink lots of water or electrolyte drinks to prevent dehydration. Pregnant women also need to drink water every time they defecate or vomit.
- Eat foods that are easy to digest, such as chicken soup, bananas, white bread, or lean meats.
- Avoid consuming foods and drinks that can make diarrhea worse, such as spicy foods, fried foods, fatty foods, milk, soda, coffee, and tea.
- Wash your hands often and avoid eating raw or undercooked food.
If you have done the methods above, but the diarrhea that pregnant women experience does not improve, you should immediately consult a doctor for this condition. That way, the doctor can give the right diarrhea medicine for pregnant women.