Contents:
- Medical Video: Patient Education Animation: Labor and Vaginal Birth
- What is hemorrhoids?
- Why do hemorrhoids during pregnancy often occur?
- So, do women who have a history of hemorrhoids can give birth normally?
Medical Video: Patient Education Animation: Labor and Vaginal Birth
Complaints of hemorrhoids during pregnancy often occur. This complaint will increase, especially in women who already have a history of hemorrhoids before pregnancy.
Well, for women who already have a history of hemorrhoids before pregnancy, during pregnancy, hemorrhoids will also be higher in grade (greater bulge). If this is the case, it is not uncommon for many pregnant women to be anxious and worried about the birth process later. Do those who already have a history of hemorrhoids before pregnancy can give birth normally? Read on to find out.
What is hemorrhoids?
Hemorrhoids or hemorrhoids, in the medical language called hemorrhoids are veins that swell and poke up in the rectum. This swelling is formed in various sizes, can be from the size of a bamboo pod to the size of a grape and can develop in the rectum or protrude through the anus. Because of this swelling, you are prone to bleeding when you defecate, making you feel uncomfortable when or after having a bowel movement.
Hemorrhoids can appear during pregnancy or after giving birth to those of you who have never experienced hemorrhoids. If you have had hemorrhoids before pregnancy, you are more likely to get them again during pregnancy or after giving birth.
Why do hemorrhoids during pregnancy often occur?
Enlarged uterus, constipation, and an increase in the hormone progesterone will all make you more prone to hemorrhoids during pregnancy. In addition, you will also be susceptible to varicose veins in the legs and sometimes even in the vaginal vulva.
During pregnancy, your uterus continues to enlarge, putting pressure on the pelvic vein and inferior vena cava, the large blood vessels on the right side of the body that receive blood from the legs. This pressure can then slow the return of blood from the lower part of the body, thereby increasing the pressure on the blood vessels under the uterus and causing them to enlarge or swell.
In addition, an increase in the hormone progesterone during pregnancy also causes blood vessel walls to relax, so that blood vessels are more easily swollen. The hormone progesterone can also cause constipation by slowing down the movement of your intestines.
Constipation during pregnancy or after giving birth can cause pressure on the blood vessels, so that it can develop into or worsen hemorrhoids. You can also develop hemorrhoids because you push too hard during labor.
So, do women who have a history of hemorrhoids can give birth normally?
Actually, hemorrhoids do not prevent a person from giving birth normally. It's just that if the mother with hemorrhoids during pregnancy wants to give birth normally, this will make the feeling of discomfort more during labor due to straining activities.
Hemorrhoids will certainly not adversely affect your baby, but later the severity of hemorrhoids will increase during labor. Now this makes many pregnant women who already have a history of hemorrhoids before pregnancy choose a caesarean section so that the condition of their hemorrhoids does not interfere with labor later.
Even though in some cases individually and under certain conditions the obstetrician decides to do a cesarean section during labor, but there are many mothers who have hemorrhoids who can still give birth normally.
Most hemorrhoids generally return to normal (if they did not have a history of hemorrhoids before) or return to the state before pregnancy (if you have a history of hemorrhoids before pregnancy). Even so, you should discuss this with an obstetrician and gynecologist to get the appropriate and optimal action, so that the birth process that will be followed will be safe for you and the baby.
