3rd Trimester

Totally Gross Question...You've been warned.

Okay, so I have googled everything I can to figure out what's causing this, but nothing's coming up soooo... maybe some of you can help me sort it out.

For the past month to month and a half, I have been having increasingly loose stools, which sometimes morphs into severe diarrhea. (Recall the infamous L&D visit for dehydration). In the past month I have probably had a grand total of 5 BMs that were solid... and I have at least one BM a day. (I know, I totally feel for you girls who are stopped up, I don't know how I'd stand it.)

Anyway, what started as an occasionally odd occurrence has no turned into a regular thing: my poop is green. Yes, green. Not like "Hmmm, that's an odd camo color" but straight up, no doubt about it green. I haven't been eating that many green vegetables (the only thing I can stomach is brocolli, and I have it once or twice a week, max) and the only vitamins I am taking currently are Flinstones Gummies, which I've been taking for a while. I don't think I've had a "normal" BM in over a month now, and it's starting to be disconcerting.

I have an appointment with my doc on Monday, and plan to bring this up... but do any of you have any experience with this? Green poo is something I expect out of babies.. not mommies...

Jack Anderson 2.28.10 Our amazing little man. image

Re: Totally Gross Question...You've been warned.

  • The only thing I can think of is are you getting too much fiber?  I would def bring it up at your appt. Hope things get back on track soon for you!

     ETA- I saw your AW post earlier, congrats on the 30wk milestone, it was today for me too!! Big Smile

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  • Ya I'd def say this is one for the Doc to field.  Hope you feel better soon!~
  • I've never heard of having too much fiber.. I mean, I guess that could be the case, but I don't really eat too many super-fiber rich foods. Actually, nothing in my diet has really changed since I got KU... soooo... No clue. Lol
    Jack Anderson 2.28.10 Our amazing little man. image
  • Found on the internet (who knows how reliable lol):

    "So, your poop is green and you are wondering what is going on. The reality is that it isn't as sinister as you may think. Green Stools or Poop in adults can be quite natural and there are many reasons why your poop is green.

    The first reason for green poop is something that your body creates naturally. Your gall bladder secretes this bright green substance known as bile.  Bile is used for the body to ingest fats and vitamins.  As it passes through the digestive tract, it will change from green to yellow to brown (which is what you see on the other end).

    So, if you see green poop, chances are pretty good that your food went through the digestive tract faster than normal resulting in bile not being able to change color from green to brown.  You may see this in diarhhea as typically diarhhea doesn't stay in your system long enough for the bile to leech nutrients from the digested food.

    Is green poop in adults a cause for concern?

    It depends.  If you have green feces on a regular basis then it could be a clear indicator that you may have a bigger problem.  The reason is that you may not be getting enough nutrients during the digestive and elimination cycle."

    I'd still ask the doc, though! 

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  • My birth book says taht loose stools in the last trimester can be due to increased hormones getting your body ready for labor. Color...are you eating things high in iron? When I was on iron supplements it morphed into greenish black...so maybe? I dunno...def. ask your doc.
  • I've had loose stools like you describe Nanny almost my entire pregnancy. In the book What to Expect When You are Expecting they say it's common to have one or the other (the other being constipation). During my 2nd tri things were solid and were like the size of coke cans LOL and now they are back to being loose again. I did eat 5 bananas last night trying to up my potassium because I had a charlie horse the other day and I am still feeling the pain. As for the green part....I ate chard like 2 or three times one week and I had green poop then...I think it's definitely you eating green vegetables or having a lot of iron. I think that is a good thing.
  • I had green poo for a few days before I was induced, but now it's back to normal.
  • I swear I read somewhere that it could do with something in the prenatal vitamin.  Also, have you eaten any foods with dye?  I once ate a whole bag of gummy lifesavers and pooped green lol  I googled it at that time and found out it was because of how dye or something is digested in your body.
  • This may sound odd, but I have used those little packets of flavoring that go in water from time to time.  Whenever I have the grape flavored one from walmart I get green poop...and boy do I mean GREEN!  Maybe some specific chemical or something in it???  Maybe something you're eating or drinking has that same effect.
  • I'm thinking something liver related...?
  • Are your flintstone vitamins colored?  Just a thought but maybe with your system being off set by pregnancy already, the color in the vitamins is coming out that way...  I know any out of the norm food dye can do that.
    Lucas Arlo - 2/26/10, Cordelia Jane - 1/20/12 
    #3 is due 8/27/14

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  • My sister had a problem with this when we were kids. ?I remember actually going into the bathroom and seeing the green poop. ?It was due to low iron. ?Ask your doctor to check your iron level. ?Hope you are feeling better soon. ?Diarrhea sucks.
    BabyFruit Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • Totally a question for your doc.  The two things that immediately come to mind is too much iron and/or digestion is happening so fast that there's no time for your bile to turn your stools brown.  Ask your doctor.
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