During pregnancy, the body produces more female hormones than normal. It is the job of these hormones to make sure that the pregnancy develops normally. But they also automatically slow down the woman's intestinal movements. During pregnancy the hormone ‘progesterone’ relaxes your digestive system and slows down intestinal movement which in turn causes infrequent bowel movements leaving you feeling bloated and sluggish. This can be exacerbated in cases where the woman is prescribed iron supplements.