Postpartum Gas and Bloating: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

You just delivered your adorable baby, but soon you find that you pass gas and get bloated more often than you normally do. You begin to wonder why and what it could mean. Postpartum gas and bloating is normal experience after delivering a baby. Whether you had your baby through vaginal birth or a C-section, postpartum gas and bloating can occur in both cases.

This article will explain all you need to know about postpartum gas and bloating, why it happens, symptoms associated with it, treatment options, and insight into the experiences of other postpartum parents that have experienced postpartum gas and bloating.

What Is Postpartum Gas And Bloating?

There are several changes that your body goes through after delivery that are considered normal, from breast engorgement and a series of hormonal changes to uncontrollable or painful postpartum gas and bloating.

Postpartum gas usually occurs when a woman experiences increased flatulence following childbirth, this can sometimes be painful and uncontrollable for some women and can go on several times a day and last for a couple of months. If you’re experiencing gas after childbirth, it’s normal and would most often go away on its own; however, this could also be a sign of a more serious health condition.

Apart from postpartum gas, other bowel movement changes a woman experiences after giving birth include:

• Bloating
• Loose bowel movement
• Constipation

These changes are not dependent on the form of delivery, whether vaginal or cesarean; these changes are bound to occur after delivery.

Symptoms of Postpartum Gas and Bloating

Some of the symptoms you’ll experience when dealing with postpartum gas and bloating include:

• Farting
• Belching
• Abdominal pain and cramping
• Gas pains
• Bowel urgency

While these symptoms are normal, specific factors could contribute to the condition or aggravate it.

Causes of Postpartum Gas And Bloating

Postpartum gas and bloating result from factors surrounding delivery, lifestyle choices, or underlying health conditions. The following is an in-depth explanation of some possible causes.

Pelvic Floor Damage

During pregnancy, your pelvic floor gets substantially strained, and the added pressure during delivery can lead to the pelvic floor being stretched and injured. The pelvic floor controls the anus, where the anal sphincter muscle is located. The anus sphincter is a band of muscles that wrap around the anus to control the release of stool from the body.

The anal sphincter maintains anal continence—the ability to control bowel movements. This function is altered in the case of pelvic floor damage, which leads to postpartum gas, uncontrollable bowel movements, and bowel urgency.

Anal injuries during delivery, like tearing of the anal sphincter muscles, can affect the control a person has over bowel movements, thereby affecting how often you pass gas. This situation is referred to as anal incontinence, and its signs include the following:

• Bowel urgency: the desire to pass stool as soon as possible.
• Uncontrollable gas: not being able to control when to pass gas.
• Anal leakage and lack of control over the passing stool

According to research, increasing maternal age and the presence of severe anal injuries among women were found to be associated with an increased prevalence of anal incontinence.

Postpartum Constipation

If you’re experiencing painful postpartum gas, it could be a sign of constipation. Constipation usually happens when some bowel changes occur after delivery.

During the first few days after delivery, your bowel movements may be slower than usual, leading to infrequent bowel movements, hard and lumpy stools, difficulty in passing stools, and postpartum gas.

Constipation can also lead to bloating and abdominal pain. Some pain medications, such as narcotic analgesics and iron, commonly prescribed for women who have had C-sections, can contribute to constipation. Other factors contributing to postpartum constipation include hemorrhoids and pain from an episiotomy.

Episiotomy

An episiotomy is a surgical procedure that involves cutting the opening of the vagina during childbirth to aid delivery and prevent the tearing of certain tissues. This procedure is usually considered when childbirth is difficult and there is a need to avoid delivery complications.

According to research, it was discovered that women who had episiotomies had a higher risk of anal incontinence than women who did not. So there’s a higher risk of developing postpartum gas and bloating after getting an episiotomy.

After an episiotomy procedure, the healing process begins and usually takes a while to heal. During this period, there is a significant effect on the pelvic floor muscles, leading to symptoms of anal incontinence, postpartum gas, and bloating.

Diet and Lifestyle

Consumption of certain foods has been linked to increased postpartum gas and bloating. Such foods usually contain fructose, lactose, fiber, and sorbitol. Examples of such foods are:

• Processed foods, specifically those containing lactose and fructose
• Beans
• Diary products
• Chewing gum and candy, especially those containing sorbitol
• Whole grains, excluding rice
• Fruits like apples, pears, peaches, and prunes
• Vegetables like Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, asparagus, and cabbage
• Onions

Eating habits like swallowing too much air when eating can contribute to increased gas. To cut down on excess gas, avoid swallowing air when eating your food and reduce your intake of processed foods. To find out which foods tend to make you pass gas more often from the list above, try keeping a food journal while noting how your body reacts to each type of food.

Another thing worthy of note is that passing gas from eating these foods might mean you have an underlying health condition. For example, if taking dairy products makes you pass gas more often, it could mean that you might be lactose intolerant. Before you consider eliminating certain foods from your diet, consider talking with your doctor.

Underlying Health Conditions

The following underlying health conditions can lead to increased gas in postpartum parents.

• Ulcerative colitis: is a chronic condition that causes inflammation and ulcers in the colon and rectum.
• Crohn’s disease: a chronic disorder that affects the digestive system and results in inflammation of the mouth, stomach, anus, or any other part of the digestive system.
• Diverticulitis: is an inflammation or infection of the diverticula, small pouches found in the colon that lead to abdominal pain, vomiting, and nausea.

Treatments for Postpartum Gas and Bloating

Although postpartum gas and bloating will usually resolve on their own, some circumstances are not normal and would require you to see a doctor.

If you experience postpartum constipation lasting more than three days or if you have signs of anal incontinence (inability to control the release of stools), you should see your doctor to get the proper diagnosis. Your treatment will be based on your symptoms and the causes of your gas.

Anal incontinence may arise from pelvic floor injuries, and if this is the case, your doctor will treat it right after delivery. Certain exercises like Yoga and Kegel are recommended to help with the healing process. Kegel exercises also help to relieve anal incontinence due to constipation.

For treating gas from constipation, here are a few home remedies to consider:

• Drink plenty of fluids daily—at least eight to 10 glasses of water each day, or warm liquids like tea, as this will help to improve bowel movements.
• A diet rich in fiber promotes healthy bowel movements; consider adding foods rich in fiber, like whole grains and vegetables, to your diet.
•  Eating prunes is a natural way to get a mild laxative effect that promotes the softening of stools.
• You could also try over-the-counter stool softeners or mild laxatives like Colace.

For gas due to diet, keep a food log of your diet and note which foods promote increased gas and bloating. Then you will know which foods to stay away from and how to maintain a more balanced diet. Talk to your doctor if you have any allergies or intolerances to certain foods.

To reduce pain from postpartum gas and bloating, pain relievers like ibuprofen are a better option than narcotic pain relievers that might promote constipation.

Experiences of Postpartum Parents with Postpartum Gas and Bloating

Some women reported experiencing increased gas right after delivery. Some had it all day long, others at night, and it came with gas pains for others. Some also reported losing control of their pee and having to wear maxi pads!

The experience lasted eight months for some, while others reported it continuing into their ninth month postpartum and beyond.

Some reported resorting to kegel exercises and stool softeners to help relieve the symptoms, while for others, the symptoms went away with time.

In Conclusion

Postpartum gas and bloating occur after delivery and are considered normal unless there’s an underlying health condition. While it might be an embarrassing situation, there are medications and home remedies that you can take to relieve your symptoms. Your doctor will recommend treatments based on the cause of the gas and bloating. Most of the time, postpartum gas and bloating resolve on their own, but exercise and certain lifestyle changes can aid improvement.