It was one of the most dramatic moments in “Bachelor” franchise history. And it wasn’t about a love triangle or an early departure or who would get a rose — it was about whether contestant Sam Jeffries could go to the bathroom.
Last week’s episode of “Bachelor in Paradise” ended on a cliffhanger as Jeffries — who hadn’t had a bowel movement in nine days — was told by on-set medics that if her situation didn’t improve, she would have to go to an operating room for a procedure to “deliver” her “poo baby.”
Poo baby?
To put Jeffries’ situation in more clinical terms, and to understand what might cause such a situation, we spoke with Elisa Birnbaum, MD, professor of GI, trauma, and endocrine surgery in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery. Here’s what she had to say. (Full disclosure: the author of this article regularly watches “Bachelor in Paradise” with his wife and sister-in-law.)