What causes constipation when your pregnant?

I am five weeks pregnant and the last few days I have had constipation….I can go but its hard to not much of it at all….what can I do? any insight would be helpful thanks!

It's terrible, isn't it? It's caused by the pregnancy hormones slowing down your digestive system. Scientists think this is so the body can get every little bit of nutrition from the food you eat, which might have been important hundreds of years ago.

I found that the kind of fiber in whole grains didn't help as much as eating fresh veggies. I have some celery, carrot sticks, bell peppers, etc. with every meal, and fruit with breakfast. Lots of salad, too. It's the only thing that really helped me…. even softeners did nothing.

By the way, my record for not going was 10 days. Consider yourself lucky.

What can a gal with gastroparesis do to ease constipation from lack of fiber?

I have recently been diagnosed with postviral gastroparesis. Although I am tolerating the low fat low diet fairly well (oh how I miss fresh veggies and loathe baby food!), I have developed a strong tendency towards constipation. I believe this is due to the "low fiber" part of my diet. I am a little concerned about this because of a strong family history of colon cancer, and fiber is said to help prevent it… What can I eat or take to relieve the constipation?
Hey, I’m very sorry about your recent diagnosis. I also have gastroparesis. My gastroenterologist recommended Miralax to me. I haven’t tried it yet because I haven’t had problems with constipation, but it’s supposed to be a mild, but effective laxative. I know what you mean about baby food… ugh! I prefer blended up soups now to baby food, except the fruit ones are ok. You should check out the yahoo group for gastroparesis. They offer a lot of support and advice for fellow patients. The link is http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/gastroparesis/. They are a wonderful group and it’s a great place to vent when you’re having a rough day. Good luck to you.