Baby Blog

This post was adapted from Proppr Bathroom Tips for Pregnancy Blog Post with permission from the PROPPR team.

You can’t go past a midwife, pregnancy app, fellow mum or your doctor to hear or read about the issues you might experience in the bathroom during pregnancy. When we say everything changes, we mean EVERYTHING! First off we’re relieving our bladder for what feels like 1000 times a day, and then for some of us, what used to be an easy #2 becomes a task like no other. Suddenly we know what a haemorrhoid is, and this is NOT something we anticipated would be part of our pregnancy. 

So how can we alleviate some of these issues we face in the loo while maintaining that pregnancy glow? 

Water is of the utmost importance. Think about it like this, do you try and do the dishes or get a stain out of your favourite shirt without using water? No, you don’t. Our bowels need water to get the waste unstuck and out of there. So, #1 – Water!

Making sure our diet is full of good fibre is #2. Without fibre, the “scrub brush” foods for the colon, nothing is cleaning or moving out. 

Staying active is #3 – try walking, swimming, pregnancy yoga or pilates.

Pelvic health is #4 - in looking at the 3 main complex structures down there in your pelvic floor and pelvic cavity you can appreciate why pelvic problems are so common for childbearing women. The structures are tied in with sexual and reproductive functions, bowel function and bladder function including the boney structures of the pelvis, ligaments holding the bones together and the muscles controlling your anus and urethra. These structures are so important to women in particular as discussed in this blog post by The Wild Orange Tree. 

Now, let’s go to the loo – and let’s make sure we are in the proper pooping position by using a toilet footrest, like the PROPPR and tilting your pelvis so that the top half of your pelvis is further forward than the bottom half (known as anterior pelvic tilt); #5!

If you have spent any time with a toddler running around chances are you have found them “squatting” in the corner doing their number 2. Or perhaps you have noticed that when you go camping and have no facilities, you can do your business in no time at all, yet you can spend 3 times as long on a toilet and still feel like you're not finished. Squatting is a natural position to poo, but since the advent of the western pedestal toilet, this innate instinct has largely been lost; contributing to a host of avoidable health problems. 

To enjoy the convenience of your toilet, while helping your body to achieve a more functional position, you can use a toilet footstool or footrest which helps replicate the squat position and ‘unkinks’ the colon for a more effective release. The science is simple: the hip flexion achieved by squatting or raising your knees above hip height and anteriorly tilting the pelvis, straightens the kink in the lower part of your colon and waste passes with ease. Going to the loo for a #2 is easier, quicker and more complete. 

Propping your feet will also support your pelvic floor and bladder sling making emptying your bladder easier. Extra trips to the toilet are usually part of the deal during pregnancy, so anything to lessen the need for toilet breaks are a godsend.

The feet raised position is great for everyone, but is particularly helpful for pregnant women. As we already know, constipation is very common during pregnancy as the pregnancy hormone progesterone relaxes and slows down the passage of food through the intestines. As mentioned earlier, diet, hydration (or lack of) and other factors can also contribute to being blocked. So as your organs adjust and relocate to accommodate the growing baby, propping can ease the pushing and straining often associated with bathroom visits. 

After a vaginal birth, those first visits to the toilet are inevitably tender, and the nurses will be very interested in whether you have passed that first bowel movement. Some women find small cold packs or ice packs down there can ease tenderness. Cold packs can be purchased in sizes that fit in your underwear or homemade using a sanitary pad that is dampened and then frozen or a condom can be filled with water, sealed and then frozen. The fear of the first number 2 after birth will be worse than the experience but regardless, it will feel as if everything is out of place down there for some time. Anything which reduces straining in those initial 6-8 weeks after birth will be more than welcome.

When you have had your baby, your bathroom toilet visits are far from relaxing alone time experiences. Your baby doesn't understand alone time and often seems to suddenly need you when you need to go, so anything which lets you return to your baby to calm them down (or reduce the time you need to hold them while multi-tasking on the toilet) will be welcome.

Toilet footrests are not a new idea, but it's probably not something you are going to hear about in everyday conversations. You can find plenty of low-cost options on eBay or try the Australian made PROPPR made from either Australian timber or anti-microbial acrylic.

PROPPR devotee, Nicole from Bronte, says: 

“Every pregnant woman needs one! A common issue in pregnancy is constipation… Constipation most of the time causes straining… Straining can cause you to have that little thought pop into your head… “‘OMG I’m going to push my baby out!”. 

This chic piece of bathroom furniture fixes these issues. The PROPPR is the perfect height and length to allow a pregnant woman to sit comfortably with her growing belly between her legs and not strain or have those little fears of pushing bub out. It just somehow manages to correct or align the organs to do their thing! 

Not to mention the after-effects of childbirth (down there) and the fear of going to the loo after all the goings-on. The PROPPR would definitely create ease and comfort by zoning in on the correct area allowing it to pass easily and confidently, no harm done and fear gone!

I highly recommend it as a must-have household item to all you pregnant women out there, as well as anyone with any issues in that department – it will fix you right up!”

If you are thinking of purchasing the Proppr footrest, enter code BABYPEG10 at checkout for 10% off the product price.

Please note: Above all, any information on this website aims to provide general ideas for informational and educational purposes only. We encourage users to investigate several information sources, including, where necessary, independent individualised medical advice before making any decisions that could affect you or your child’s health or wellbeing.

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