Yep, we all poop!

Did you know that our poop changes during pregnancy? Did you also know that some people poop during labor?

The consistency of your poop can tell you a lot about your gut health and the shape can tell you about your pelvic floor muscles. During pregnancy, hormones can cause the consistency of our poop to change. It is important that we still pay attention to what is going on.

If your poop is a 1-3 in the chart below, you could be dehydrated and your pelvic floor muscles might be too tight or sitting in the shortened position. Just because you are pregnant, does not mean that you will be constipated no matter what. There are things you can do. Talking to your healthcare practitioner and seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist can help. 

If your poop is a 4, you are in EXCELLENT health! Well, gut health that is.

If your poop is a 6-7, you also might be dehydrated or your bowels/intestines are not happy and are irritated. If you have chronic poop in this range (more than 3 days) you might want to talk to your healthcare practitioner. You are not getting the nutrients your body or baby need and there might be a reason why.

Are you afraid you are going to poop during labor? Don’t feel alone, most people are concerned about this. There are techniques to calm your mind. *Spoiler Alert* You do not have control over if you will poop or not during labor. However, you can use pooping to your advantage.