Lower Abdominal Pain When Baby Moves During Pregnancy
Some abdominal pain during pregnancy is normal. Later all, your organs are constantly shifting, your uterus is expanding, and your ligaments are stretching—all of which tin cause beneficial aches and pains. On rare occasions, though, abdominal pain can bespeak something serious. Consult our guide to learn more nearly the causes of upper and lower abdominal hurting during pregnancy, and find out when to telephone call the md.
Harmless Causes of Intestinal Pain During Pregnancy
From constipation to round ligament pain, here are some mutual culprits that cause harmless abdominal discomfort during pregnancy. Go along in mind that if the hurting y'all're experiencing continues—or if you have worrisome symptoms such as bleeding or stiff cramping—you lot should check in with your OB-GYN right abroad.
Your Growing Uterus
Every bit your uterus grows, it displaces your bowel, "which can lead to nausea, a sense of feeling full easily, or distention in your belly," says Patrick Duff, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Florida at Gainesville. The solution? Swallow more frequent and smaller meals, exercise regularly, get plenty rest, and empty your bladder ofttimes.
- RELATED: Your Pregnancy Symptoms Week by Week
Round Ligament Pain
"Sometimes as the uterus enlarges, it stretches the round ligaments—2 big ligaments that travel off the front of the uterus and down into the groin," Dr. Duff says. Round ligament pain usually starts between 18 and 24 weeks (around when yous start showing) and typically occurs on ane side of your belly, though information technology can strike both. Y'all may feel information technology as lower abdominal pain that radiates into the groin; it may be sharp and stabbing or dull and achy, and it usually lasts for only a few seconds. Information technology tin can be triggered past any movement that causes these ligaments to stretch, like coughing, sneezing, laughing, or getting upwardly suddenly. Round ligament pain normally resolves on its own, but if you're extremely uncomfortable, ask your OB-GYN if you can take acetaminophen.
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Constipation and Gas
Constipation and gas are frequently part of the pregnancy bundle, unfortunately. Progesterone, a hormone that increases during pregnancy, slows downwards your entire gastrointestinal tract, making foods travel more than slowly through it. To combat constipation, drink enough of water and eat fiber-rich foods. If that doesn't relieve the problem, your midwife or ob-gyn may recommend a stool softener or a fiber supplement.
Braxton Hicks Contractions
"Braxton Hicks contractions aren't associated with dilation of the cervix," Dr. Duff says. "They're annoying, but totally beneficial." The play a joke on is differentiating these "exercise contractions" from real premature labor. "Truthful contractions tend to become closer and closer together," Dr. Duff says. "If someone can carry on a conversation, lookout television, or read, then the contractions are probably not existent labor." Dehydration can trigger Braxton Hicks contractions, so beverage plenty of fluids. If the contractions persist, or yous're not certain whether they're Braxton Hicks or true contractions, call your OB-GYN.
- RELATED: What Are Braxton Hicks Contractions? Causes, Symptoms, and Hurting Relief
Serious Causes of Intestinal Pain in Pregnancy
For a small number of expecting parents, serious pregnancy complications can develop that require immediate attention from your OB-GYN. Some ruby flags to watch for include bleeding, severe pain, fever, and visual disturbances.
Ectopic Pregnancy
Ectopic or tubal pregnancies—in which the egg implants someplace other than the uterus, about often in the fallopian tube—occur in one out of every 50 pregnancies, according to the March of Dimes. If yous have an ectopic pregnancy, you may experience intense hurting and bleeding betwixt your sixth and tenth weeks of pregnancy, equally the tube becomes distended. The following factors increment the gamble of ectopic pregnancy: previous pelvic, abdominal, or fallopian tube surgery; endometriosis; previous ectopic pregnancy; tubal ligation; having an intrauterine device (IUD) in place at the fourth dimension of conception; or a pelvic infection. An abnormally shaped uterus and the utilise of artificial reproductive techniques also seem to increase the hazard.
- RELATED: Ectopic Pregnancy Symptoms, Causes, and Risk Factors
Ectopic pregnancies can't continue and require immediate treatment. If yous had a positive pregnancy test just haven't yet had your pregnancy confirmed by a medical exam, and you feel abdominal pain, you should be evaluated immediately by your OB-GYN, says Linda Chambliss, Yard.D., principal of obstetrics at St. Joseph'due south Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. Your OB-GYN or midwife can perform an ultrasound to confirm whether the egg has implanted in the uterus.
Miscarriage
When women experience abdominal pain during early pregnancy, "you always accept to be concerned virtually miscarriage," says Dr. Duff, considering the unfortunate fact is that fifteen to 20 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Symptoms of miscarriage include haemorrhage and cramping that tin be rhythmic or resemble menstrual cramps.
Preterm Labor
If you lot're experiencing regular contractions before you lot're 37 weeks pregnant, and it'south accompanied by persistent backache, you could be having preterm labor. Now isn't the time to wait it out—call your OB-GYN right abroad. The contractions might come with leaking vaginal fluid or claret or a decrease in fetal motion.
Even experienced pregnant women may not exist able to tell if contractions are Braxton Hicks or true preterm labor, Dr. Chambliss says, and so she asks her patients to telephone call anytime they feel contractions. Y'all may end upwards being sent dwelling because it's a simulated alarm (Dr. Chambliss says this happens to almost xxx percent of the women who show upwards in her triage unit), but it's amend to be safe than sorry, especially in this case.
- RELATED: Signs of Preterm Labor and What Your Doctor Will Practise
Placental Abruption
Your placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to your baby. It ordinarily implants high on the uterine wall and doesn't disassemble until later your little one is built-in. In rare cases (one out of every 200 births), the placenta tin can divide from the uterine wall—a unsafe complication that'south most common in the 3rd trimester. Dr. Duff describes the discomfort from a placental abruption as "astringent, constant, progressively worsening lower abdomen pain." Your uterus may become rock hard (if you printing on the abdomen, it won't indent) and you may as well have dark, red bleeding that doesn't accept clots.
In some cases, a woman may go into labor when her placenta separates, in which case her OB-GYN volition usually deliver the babe by emergency cesarean section. If the abruption is mild, a doctor may permit the pregnancy to continue or may induce labor for a vaginal commitment. Women at risk for this status include those who accept a history of placental abruption, equally well as those with high blood pressure, preeclampsia, and intestinal trauma.
Preeclampsia
According to the Preeclampsia Foundation of America, preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders occur in v to 8 percent of all pregnancies. Preeclampsia tin can develop later twenty weeks (which is partly why your doctor checks your claret pressure at every engagement) and it's characterized past high blood pressure and poly peptide in the urine. Because high claret pressure constricts the vessels in the uterus that supply the fetus with oxygen and nutrients, the babe's growth may exist slowed. Preeclampsia also increases the risk of placental abruption, in which the placenta separates from the uterine wall before commitment.
- RELATED: What Is Preeclampsia and Can It Be Prevented?
Women with severe preeclampsia might besides feel pain in the upper right portion of your belly, nausea, headaches, swelling, and visual disturbances like flashing lights. If you suspect preeclampsia, telephone call your OB-GYN immediately.
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Up to 10 pct of expectant moms will get a urinary tract infection (UTI) at some point during their pregnancy, according to the March of Dimes. Typical symptoms include a sudden urge to urinate, pain or burning with urination, and bloody urination—only some patients with a UTI also experience abdominal pain, Dr. Chambliss says. "The concern with UTIs during pregnancy is that they tin can progress to an infection in your kidneys that will increase your hazard of preterm labor," she adds. The adept news is that if a UTI is caught early on, it should be like shooting fish in a barrel to treat with antibiotics—and that'due south one reason why your OB-GYN tests your urine during every visit.
Appendicitis
Appendicitis tin can exist hard to diagnose in pregnancy, says Dr. Duff, because "as the uterus enlarges, the appendix pulls upward and can go up nigh the belly button or liver. That atypical presentation gives usa a curveball." And the delayed diagnosis raises the chance of dying from appendicitis during pregnancy. Although the usual authentication of appendicitis is pain in the lower right quadrant of your abdomen, you lot may feel it college up when you're pregnant. Other symptoms include lack of appetite, nausea, and airsickness.
- RELATED: Cramps During Pregnancy: What They Mean and When to Worry
Gallstones
Stones in the gallbladder are more than common in women, especially if they're overweight, over the age of 35, or take a history of stones, Dr. Chambliss says. The pain from gallstones (also chosen cholecystitis) is severe and focused in the upper right quadrant of your belly. In some cases, the pain may too radiate around to your back and under your right shoulder blade.
When to Call the Medico
Don't hesitate to call your physician if you feel like something'due south not quite right. "If you take anything that yous're concerned well-nigh, you should contact your OB-GYN or be seen," says Rebecca Shiffman, M.D., director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Lincoln Hospital in Bronx, New York. "That's what we're here for—to provide answers to meaning women and to provide any intendance they demand." Always call your doctor right abroad if you have any of these symptoms:
- Abdominal hurting with or without bleeding earlier 12 weeks
- Bleeding or strong cramping
- More than four contractions in an hour for two hours
- Severe abdominal pain
- Visual disturbances
- Severe headache
- Severe swelling of the hands, legs, or confront
- Pain during urination, difficulty urinating, or blood in your urine
- Fever or chills
How to Ease Abdominal Pain During Pregnancy
Wondering if there'south anything you can do to help ease benign abdominal discomfort during pregnancy? Of grade, the treatment depends on what's causing the pain, simply these tips might be able to help.
- Consume modest, frequent meals
- Exercise regularly, in moderation and with a medico's approving
- Choose fiber-rich foods (including fruits, vegetables, and bran)
- Potable plenty of water
- Empty your float often
- Remainder frequently
- Change the way you lot motility, peculiarly if you're experiencing round ligament pain. For instance, you might endeavour sitting down and getting upward more slowly and trying non to plough sharply at the waist.
Just remember: If you're experiencing any worrisome symptoms, come across the doc right away.
Lower Abdominal Pain When Baby Moves During Pregnancy
Source: https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/aches-pains/pregnancy-abdominal-pain/