"Answers, Period"

Why do I get diarrhea and constipation during my period?

Again, Dr. Masterson has a single word of reasoning: hormones. "All women react differently to hormones," she says. "People don't realize that the hormones in our body control our temperature, women's temperature, around the time they ovulate. It's responsible for the acne around periods that people hate. Breast tenderness. It's responsible for so many things and our metabolism, slowing down the gastrointestinal tract, the stomach, that's why a lot of pregnant women will become constipated or have diarrhea because of those high hormone levels during pregnancy.

"Again it's the same thing with the menstrual cycle. The ebb and the flow of hormones can cause constipation and diarrhea."