Healthy Pregnancy Centre

Pregnancy can bring a wide range of inconveniences – food cravings, frequent urination, dizzy mornings, nausea and many more. Yes, aches and pains become very typical during the entire span of pregnancy. However, one form of pain can remain consistent even after you have given birth – the pain we are referring to is that which is caused by gallstones. Such gall bladder pregnancy problem is characterized by intestinal discomforts and stabbing pains. In fact, for fear of gall bladder infection pregnancy, some women have their gall bladders removed before giving birth because they find it difficult to bear with the pain brought about by the stones. Before getting pregnant, it is important for you to understand and to get as much information as you can about gall bladder pregnancy problems as well as those that may  occur after giving birth.

According to Dr. Christy Dibble, director of the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Service Program in Women’s Digestive Disorders, next to appendicitis, the second most common condition encountered by women during pregnancy is the gall bladder removal surgery. It is also said that women aging between 20-60 are twice likely to develop gallstones than men. We become even more at risk to develop gall bladder problems when we get pregnant. Birth control use and estrogen can be a major cause of gall bladder abnormalities. In fact, approximately 2-4 percent of pregnant women taking birth control pills are found out to have gallstones during their pregnancy.

So how exactly are gallstones formed? Your gall bladder is a small organ which houses the bile and is located below the liver. The bile is the fluid breakdown of digestive enzymes and old red blood cells. Your digestive system needs the bile in order to carry out digestion. Normally, the bile stays in your intestine until you start eating and then the gall bladder squeezes the bile into your intestine in order to mix it with food. Gall stones are caused by several reasons. First, when the materials – salts, lecithin and bile as well -making up the bile become out of balance, they begin to form crystals. These crystals tend to stick together growing harder and larger. The circulating estrogen, progesterone level and the hormonal milieu altogether, affect the gallbladder’s ability for bile excretion and contraction. High level of the these hormones can weaken your gall bladder wall which induces gallstone formation. When the stones start to lodge in the ducts of your pancreas or bladder, the pain can be very extreme and untolerable.

Aside from female hormones and pregnancy, other risk factors which can induce the formation of gall bladder stones include ethnicity particularly Mexican Americans and Native Americans, obesity, rapid weight loss and diabetes. Patients claim that the pain oftentimes, occur at night time or afer eating spicy food. If you are one of those experiencing such bladder inconveniences months after you give birth, it is highly advised that you take time to see a health care provider in order to prevent the abnormality from developing further.

Good health should not only be a priority during pregnancy but even more importantly, after giving birth. After all, you wouldn’t want to miss any of your baby’s milestones.

You can find helpful information about bladder infection pregnancy and everything you need to know about gall bladder pregnancy at Aha! Baby.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/pregnancy-articles/bladder-symptoms-during-pregnancy-understanding-preventing-and-treating-1149865.html