"Period Poops" Are A Thing, And This Is Why You Get Them

If you've previously observed that you defecate more when you're on your period, you're not alone.

It's pretty usual for individuals to observe themselves wanting to go more frequently, or else experiencing diarrhea, even though it's not something that's commonly discussed.

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"Period diarrhea is the worst," gynecologist Dr. Jennifer Gunter tweeted in 2019. "It's due to the prostaglandins that are released. I learned that in medical school when I was 20 and I so wish I'd known it when I was 14.

Knowing why your body is doing something is so helpful even if medically doesn't fix anything."

What causes period poops?

"Lots of women experience this phenomenon," science correspondent Anna Rothschild described in a video in 2016. "And for that, you can probably blame two chemical signals: prostaglandins and progesterone."

Watch this video to understand better

Prostaglandins, which are molecules produced in the lining of the uterus, are also responsible for the aching pain you feel either before or during your period. Before you dismiss prostaglandins as a terrible chemical jerk, consider that they have a purpose other than inducing pain. The chemicals stimulate your blood vessels to constrict and muscles in the uterus to contract, causing you to shed your uterine lining.

By causing the uterus to contract more aggressively, high amounts of prostaglandins can induce very unpleasant period cramps. However, high levels can cause chaos in your bowels as well as in the intestines, resulting in their contraction as well.

"Also progesterone, which is a hormone that helps you maintain a pregnancy, is slightly constipating," Rothschild describes. "But levels of it drop during your period, so it lets things loosen up down there."

Generally, a dearth of progesterone causes looser stools, whilst an increased level of prostaglandins causes your bowels to contract, both of which work together so as increase your bowel movements.

Period poops do not affect everyone, and they are more probable to happen in persons who already have unpleasant cramps (because of the underlying increased prostaglandins levels).

If you experience them, they are more inclined to happen at the start of your period, when the concentrations of the chemicals are considerably high.

An increase in poops could also be caused by changes in diet before your period, with studies that indicate an increase in calories consumed soon before your period. Although ibuprofen relieves pain, it also lowers prostaglandin levels in the blood, which may assist in treating this condition.