The "M" word - Metabolism

Yes, it really does happen.  Your metabolism slows down after 35.  And that means a few things for us as over-35 pregnant mothers.


1- We gain weight more easily when pregnant and have a harder time losing it afterward.  


I always gain a lot of weight when I'm pregnant, but with the later pregnancies I've gotten to higher and higher weights.  Until baby number 6 at age 36, I always got back to my wedding weight or even below, a svelte 112 lbs.  I haven't been able to get much below 120 unless I went on a drastic fast, and more recently, its been 130.  Not good when you're only 5'2".  


They talk about eating for two when you're pregnant, but that is an old wives' tale that doesn't hold water.  God was smart enough to recognize that women would not always be able to increase their food intake when they were pregnant, so not just over-35 mothers, but ANY pregnant mother's metabolism slows down.  It gives her body more food value out of the food she eats.  While, of course, your doctor may have advice for you depending on your needs, --we had a friend who was so terribly thin that her doctor's prescription was a peanut butter brownie sundae before bed - every night!  She could hardly choke it down--  generally speaking, we don't really need a lot more food.  However, the slower metabolism has other ugly results that require some dietary addressing.


2- "Constipation--- it's making me wait!"  Can't you just hear the old song?  


We are not talking mild irregularity where you say, "Oh, dear, I guess we'll see some action tomorrow."  We are talking pain from the ribs down, two weeks without a bowel movement, hemorrhoids, bleeding from the rectum, NOTHING IS MOVING constipation.


This is the kind of constipation that affected me with Mimi, 10 years old now, my first baby after 35.  It was so bad that when her water broke, nothing happened.  At all. For 48 hours.  I had two doses of castor oil, ginger tea, and an enema and nothing came out that I hadn't just put in.  The bowel wasn't moving, so neither did she.  We finally went to the hospital to be induced and she was born an unprecedented 75 HOURS after rupture of the membranes.  


NOTE: Not everyone can deliver that long after rupture of membranes.  My only saving grace was that no internal exam had been done.  Once an internal has been done, the clock starts. I believe it is 12 hours later that the baby has to be delivered or there will be concern about infection.  PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK THIS WITH YOUR DOCTOR OR MIDWIFE.


Back to our riveting story.  The week after she was born, my colon emptied and left my bottom feeling more burned and raw than the delivery had.  So, how did I change things after that pregnancy?


3- Prune juice.  I wish something else worked.  Just having a big salad didn't cut it.  I've been trying to cut back on my carbs and increase protein this pregnancy.  This just makes the constipation worse.  I've tried psyllium husk in the hopes that the greater water intake plus the bulk of the husk would save me carbs since I detest prune juice and don't want to waste good carbs on it.  Nope.  I was only in week 14 and already not having easy movements, even with the psyllium  husk.  So, I came home, looked at a dusty bottle of prune juice and choked down 14 oz.  Hours later, rather than days, after bubbling and burbling in its lubrication of my colon, we cleared the pipes from the past week.  Hallelujah!  Angels are singing!  And  I guess I'm stuck with prune juice.  You can try increasing your produce intake, particularly of dried fruit, and try laxative tea, but, personally, prune juice is God's gift to me.