So sorry you and your Mum are going through this Nailit, but it's the same with my Grandfather who is also trerminally ill, his nurses are always most concerned that his bowels open normally because he's on morphine and that can, as Sqad identified, cause constipation which is really distressing (he had a bout of it, and it was almost the straw that broke the camels back, he was crying he was so pained and distressed) so you might not realise it but sometimes the smaller thing which they seem to obsess about are actually very much for your Mum's comfort and wellbeing. x