End of Third Trimester with Digestive Issues

Your digestive system is getting ready for labor and delivery. The BRAT diet won't help because you do want to cleanse. Definitely stay hydrated, drinking more water than usual. Remember... if you feel thirsty then you're already dehydrated.

You said you had cramping that then released some diarrhea like stool? Pay attention to that. It could be early stages of labor. Don't eat anything heavy but keep it light and nutritious... and stay away from binding foods.

With my first daughter I was a bit over a month early with her. I had eaten a pasta and shrimp dinner at my mom's house and that evening I could feel that it still wasn't digesting. My prodromal labor, which had already been going on for over six weeks, kicked into active labor. After every bad contraction, I was then on the toilet with digestive problems. It gradually went from regular poop to diarrhea. Had I not been eating normally and been a bit constipated, and not eaten that large meal earlier in the day, I probably would have cleansed much more quickly.

Banana's are one of the first foods that doc's take off the diet when someone is having bowel issues....it's the most constipating food around.

Half a banana is an adult serving, seriously, half a banana. So if you eat a whole banana you've had 2 servings of fruit.

People who take stool softeners and Miralax often should never eat a banana again unless it's just a few bites and they stop. Some people have to completely leave banana's out of their diet completely.

Eat a well balanced diet with natural fats, a little bit of real sugar, real milk, and bread that's not so bleached and processed it's just white goo when you swallow it.

Eat good natural wholesome foods and see if that helps your processes in your body.

You have a lot going on and if you're having pain then you need to let the doc know. Those cramps could bring on labor if they are intense enough.

I'm in my second trimester and a couple of weeks ago had a big problem with being constipated. My doctor told me to take stool softeners, because she knew I didn't want to do a laxative, and it helped a lot. The website for my doctor's practice lists medications that are safe when pregnant and it gave a stool softener suggestion. Maybe your doctor's website does something similar?

Ok... you say you are constipated...

I wonder if the soft stool that is being passed is just what your body is able to squeeze by the solid stool that is "plugging" up the works?

You really may want to talk to a doctor about this.... especially since you are so close to delivering.

I think you should get an enema. You are in your 39th week, so if it stimulated labor that would be fine!