The PPP.
Post-Partum Poop. I now dread it more than I dread birth. Never thought you would hear that, did ya? I had ZERO issues with this my first. In fact, I had the opposite problem. So, when I had my second, I was unpleasantly surprised with the pooping issues that plagued me after I gave birth. Also, YES. I am writing about shitting in this blog post. If you don’t shit, you can gladly leave – but we all know you do, so you might as well stay and get educated on pooping after childbirth, Mmmmmm kay? 😉
You may have heard about all the issues that you can have with pooping during pregnancy, but not many people talk about the issues AFTER childbirth. Unfortunately, I developed painful, excruciating (I thought I would dieeeeeeee) fissures after my 2nd was born. These little shits (no pun intended) were a huge pain in my ass (also, no pun intended).
((Side note, talking about shit is pretty funny.))
Okay, okay. I’m done making fun. So….what did I do to solve this pooping dilemma? Let me tell you.
First, I cried. For like ever. Because, well……
hormones.
Then I snapped into action. First things first…..
1.) Drink a lake. Seriously, find the nearest lake and drink all the damn water. Drink water until you actually float away. The more hydrated you are, the better your poop comes out! 😉 This tea is also AMAZING when it comes to relieving constipation.
2.) Fiber. Eat a ton of it. Examples of foods high in fiber include: Pears, Berries, Avocados, Figs, Peas, Brussel Sprouts, Beans, Chickpeas, Nuts, & Quinoa. I took metamucil 1-2 times a day to help increase my fiber intake.
3.) Stool softeners are your friend. I remember when the OB sent me home with colace. “Make sure you take this” she said. Well, I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t take it and what an unbelievable mistake that was……
4.) Relax. It sounds stupid but it’s totally not. You need to relax when using the bathroom. Breathe in and out and relax. Everything will happen a lot easier that way 🙂 Straining will lead to hemorrhoids and if you don’t already have them, trust me, you don’t want them….
*If you don’t already have one, I highly suggest a squatty potty 😉
5.) Exercise. It may not be possible to do much until after your 6 week appointment, but you can still walk! Try to get out there and walk as much as possible! Exercise helps to get things moving!
6.) For hemorrhoids, use sits baths or fill up the tub with warm water (you can also add baking soda) to help ease the pain and itching. This will also help to heal the hemorrhoids a bit faster. You can also use hemorrhoid wipes instead of harsh toilet paper! Use an over the counter hemorrhoid cream or suppository containing hydrocortisone.
7.) Breastmilk. For hemorrhoids and fissures……
Okay, this one is going to sound a bit strange. I haven’t actually tried this myself but I should have since I use BM for everything else. If you have one of those applicators (they give you them with the hemorrhoid cream), please BM on it and insert! You can thank me later 😉
8.) Essential oils. These can also help to heal your butt! Imagine that! You can use lavender to help ease itching and frankincense to help with inflammation. Always dilute with a carrier oil, like coconut oil. You can also call your midwife about these because a lot of them are versed in natural remedies!
9.) For fissures, here are a few tips. Apply petroleum jelly before you have a bowel movements. This will help to lubricate the area so that it doesn’t worsen. You can also use a squatty potty (we actually do own one of these contraptions) to achieve the best squatting position (hahaha, but no seriously…..)
Okay, welp. That’s about all the shit I can think of right now (ha)
If you have any tips or tricks that worked for you. Please let us know in the comments below!
Soooo true! Not the finest moment of motherhood!
Oh this is such a helpful and necessary post. I have just had my fourth baby and I still made some of the same mistakes (pizza two days after giving birth, when will I learn…) Yep, post partum pooping has made me cry in a way that birth has not. 🙂
3A MagnesIa pIlls from lane Medical. I like these because i can adjust The number of pills And my body doesn’t get dependent. I also do thE colon cleanse (Dosing on the bottle) a few days beforE my period to help move things along. i get pencil poop and my bowelS don’t completely empty due to all the blOating. My Cramps are also less severe.
Fissures are the worst! It’s what I’m most scared about with baby #2 on the way… Cascacra Segrada was my best friend! It’s an herbal supplement, and it basically turns your poop to water so your bum can heal!
Lynzy, Great article! I agree with everything here and would also add to have women go see a women’s health physical therapist. I work with women with fissures and find that there is usually a “knot”in the anal sphincter muscle that when released, can help decrease the tension on the fissure and help it heal quicker. I teach my moms to release the anal muscle before each BM so the sphincter has the ability to open easily and not put excessive strain on the fissure. Thanks for giving out such great advice!
Lynn Schulte, PT and founder of the Institute For Birth Healing
Another thing that helps is to be in more of a
Squating position.
Look up the product Squatty potty. I didn’t actually invest in this item but I use a step stool when I go. Provides the ideal angle for bowel movement.
I cried and googled ” no pain post partum poop” while sitting In the bathroom after both deliveries lol! I was so scared I was going to tear the stitches open. With my second I did learn that counter pressure helps.. I just used a pad to put pressure on the skin where the stitches were, and it helped a lot!
Smoothe Move Tea! Just sip it, as opposed to chugging…. it works wonders and can work FAST. 🙂
Post partum pooping is definitely worse than childbirth, but isn’t it great that we can laugh about it later?! I have to take colace for like a month after giving birth before I start to feel somewhat regular again.
ok – another tea for you to attempt. if you haven’t 🙂 Smooth Move tea, drink it AT NIGHT the first time. then have a cup every few hours and i promise it will be better. lemon water helps too and anything warm. mine was horrid after my first and they told me to drink any and everything hot! best of luck!
Just gave birth 3 weeks ago to my second child. Colace twice a day, drinking a bottle of water after every nursing session and more in between, and sitz baths with EPSOM salt saved me from lots of tears and pain this go round. I tried Epsom salt with eucalyptus and it made me feel so much better because it smelled great and actually made my body feel more relaxed.
Lots of water and magnesium supplements… And ????????
That time I was screaming into a towel during my first post-partum poop????????????
Hi lynzy was reading about constipation u mentioned a tea? What tea can help with constipation? Thanks laura
I’ve had 7 babies/deliveries. I didnt have any issues( other than I’m a bleeder) with my first but with my second I had to have an episiotomy because the cord was wrapped around my son Chad 3 times, twinge around his little neck! As you an imagine pushing super hard and when breaking for a breath he sucked back in! As a result I had fissures AND hemmroids! Tucks wipes..Colace, Benifiber, sitz bath with Epsom salts, Rutin( supplement) and Vick’s vapor rub diluted or mixed with aquafor are my healing regiments! Side note..those buggers came back and reared haha reared???? their ugly head with baby number 5 and 7! Kid 6 I got to the hospital in time to have no OB’s avail so I got a midwife intern who held them in for me! God bless her❤️ Hope this helps another momma~Cheers Jen
This needs to be discussed more!! I’m ten months post partum and I developed such a bad fissure that I started sinking into a depression. I was trapped at home because my pain was so bad I couldn’t go anywhere. I planned my life around pooping. I would be up all night in pain. I would breastfeed standing up. I spent so much money on over the counter creams and shit.
Finally got back with my women’s health pelvic floor physical therapist and I’m finally starting to heal. Or at least not be in excruciating pain all day long. Still a ways to go.. but I’m determined to get healed so that I can be whole again before trying for baby number 2. But I wish someone had talked to me.
I can TOTALLY relate to you! Only thing that started helping me was something called Hydro C. It softens the poOp makimg it easier to heal fissures and HEMORRHOIDS.
Yaaaassss all if this is so true and not talked about enough! I have had horrible fissures for the last 6 months (still healing, it’s a journey…) that didn’t kick in until 8 weeks pp. I’m also living in rural South America which makes getting a lot of what would have normally helped so effing hard! What has helped me the most is actually decreasing fiber (I’ve always had a high fiber diet and getting more actually just made my poops bigger and would tear me open every time), WATER and exercise like you said, and (I’m just gonna say it because I think the TMI line has already been crossed) putting my thumb inside my vagina and pinching the perineum to angle the poo chute (hahaha) so it moves the pressure away from the fissure zone. Holy moly, I’d rather go through birth every day than poop with fissures! Thank you so much for putting this article out there!!!
I had 2 fissures PP with my first. It was over 5 mos. before they even began to heal – it was the worst pain ever! I tried all the home remedies and nothing helped. Hot baths helped with the pain- temporarily. I ended up going to a specialist and getting a compound cream. Unfortunately it caused horrible headaches and didn’t really help with the fissures. I ultimately ended up having a procedure where they injected Botox into my anus to paralyze the muscles and let them heal. That worked (after a month)-sort of. My son is now 2.5 and the fissures aren’t completely healed (they flareup every once in a while) but the pain is nothing compared to PP.
Im currently 2 months into my fissure and 11 weeks Pp. I got the botox injections last week. The first 5 days felt terrible. I was taking oxys and that wasnt enough for the pain. On day 7 now and feels the same as before the procedure. Wondering if and when ill ever have relief. Was the botox a success for you overall? Have you thought about the lis surgery?
Thank god someone wrote this haha
Had all the poop problems, but now i have a few ideas for next times.
I just had my third baby and a game changing tip wAs shared with me by my midWife. When you have to go #2, wrap toliet paper around your hand and hold yourself in the front while you are going. It helps you relax and it was really a major game chAnger eveRyone should know about. I didn’t dread every time i had to go #2 postpartum.
What happens if your HEMORRHOIDS from Pregnancy dont go away and they are external not internal
Organic Psyllium husks Powder! 1 tbs Mixed with glaSs of water. You will go, like clockwork in 30 minutes, no cramping, no pain, just a gentle elimination. I had HEMORRHOIDS, and went without pushing. The most amazing feeling! Colon cleanse!
Hi Lyn, You are a rockstar! I LOVE LOVE LOVE that you wrote this blog post. AS a pelvic floor physical therapist I wish all of my pregnant and postpartum mamas would be open to this conversation ahead of time. There is actually a lot you can do (and yes, your suggestions are spot on) to help yourself with your first poops!! How you breathe can also make a great difference. WHen we are constipated we usually strain and hold our breath to increase our intra-abdominal pressure to try and get the poop out– BUT this can actually tighten up your pelvic floor muscles and make it more painful! sooo, EXHALE as you poop!! and even for those who have had a c-section can benefit from reading this post! Ladies, share share share this information with your friends. I am so happy I found you and will definitely recommend your site and what not to my patients!! thanks for the great conversation and information!