Getting married? Wonderful.
Having a baby and starting a family? Even more wonderful.
Finding out that being pregnant is one of the causes of bleeding hemorrhoids? Not wonderful.
As if being pregnant wasn’t enough – what with morning sickness and weird cravings and feeling just plain cranky – there is a possibility you could develop a hemorrhoid issue or two during your pregnancy.
Normally they occur because there was too much pressure the veins in your pelvic region and rectal area. This leads to the veins swelling and leading to discomfort and sometimes pain. When you are pregnant, you can be more susceptible to them because your uterus is in the process of growing with your baby. This growth eventually puts more pressure than normal on the lower area of your body, specifically the pelvic veins and sometimes the inferior vena cava. The inferior vena cava is located on the right side of your body and returns blood from the lower half back to the heart. In addition, when you are pregnant the blood vessels around your pelvic area naturally become dilated. The combination of both the pressure and added blood flow can lead to the veins in the rectal wall to swell, thus leading to a new reason for you to be cranky.
With these added issues, at times the vessels may occasionally protrude outside of the anus, leading to itching and more discomfort. Because pregnancy can also lead to constipation, you may also find them developing due to the extra strain. Now there are three causes of bleeding hemorrhoids to deal with while pregnant. Not exactly joyous, but they aren’t permanent either.
The last cause may appear postpartum. Even if you did not have trouble with them during your pregnancy, you still have to push the baby out of your body. Your body has already managed to handle increased blood flow, added pressure, and possibly some problems with bowel movements, but now the baby has to come out. This means even further pressure, which might prove to be too much. All that new pressure on the veins may lead to their development after the baby is born.
While none of this sounds pleasant, it is not likely that you will have to worry about them causing any major problems or sticking around for long. There are many ways do deal with them during and after your pregnancy and any physician will reassure you, as well as offer up any methods of keeping you comfortable, from soaking in a warm tub to eating more fiber to avoid constipation. Keep up any of these offered methods until they are gone. Some women may have to wait until the baby is born to be completely free of them, as they may have had child before and developed a similar problem then. However, you can rest assured that they will not last forever and soon you can put all your focus on that new baby of yours.