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Home › Articles › Mom's Health › Colon Care

Colon Care

Finding Regularity Again
After Giving Birth

By Laura Cone

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

It's ironic how the same woman who is afraid to go to the bathroom in public loses all sense of modesty while in the throes of labor. Although talking about colon health does not make for great breakfast conversation, it's vitally important for women hoping to become regular again after giving birth.

Pamela Gerry, a registered nurse and colon hydrotherapist in Sanford, Maine, says for the most part, women tend to have more problems staying regular than men. "Men do a lot more physical work and they seem to have a much easier time in general," Gerry says. "The other thing is women are very comfortable in their own setting. When they leave that setting, they tend to not be able to go to the bathroom. Also, everyone is in a rush now."

Gerry, the mother of four children, says most people do not eat enough fiber or drink enough water. "Most Americans are chronically dehydrated," she says. "If they found they had a little urge to go to the bathroom, but could not quite go, if they were to drink two glasses of water right then, the water would act as a laxative and help them to eliminate."

Women who have just given birth are particularly vulnerable to constipation and diarrhea. That's because women have more progesterone in their systems after giving birth, which slows down peristalsis (contractions in the intestine). "If people are nursing their babies, they are releasing prolactin, and that's also nature's relaxing hormones," she says. "It relaxes the smooth muscles of the colon."

While relaxing the colon muscles might sound good, it's not. Gerry says a woman's hormones relax the natural wave-like action or the rhythmic undulations of the colon that pushes material along. The result is constipation.

"We need to drink more water and eat foods high in fiber," Gerry says. "I encourage my clients to eat 50 percent of their foods raw. I don't mean raw fish or meat; I mean raw foods and vegetables, fruits and seeds."


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