Abdominal pain during early pregnancy | Abdominal pain during pregnancy

Abdominal pain during early pregnancy

Abdominal pain in the early stages of pregnancy, i.e. in the first weeks and months, is nothing unusual. They are a sign that the body is preparing to house a growing child for nine months. In the initial phase, during the implantation of the fertilised egg in the lining of the uterus, there may be a slight pulling in the abdomen.

Furthermore, at the beginning of the placenta, new blood vessels are formed. Some pregnant women also feel this as a slight pain. Increasingly, there is also stretching of muscles and ligaments and the uterus grows.

Those affected can perceive all this as pulling pain. Especially the so-called maternal ligaments stretch in the early stages of pregnancy. The uterine ligaments attach the uterus to the pelvic bone.

The pain is often described as being similar to aching muscles and usually projects onto the groin. The main remedy for this type of pain is the application of heat, rest and relaxation. Sometimes pregnant women go to the doctor only because of the pain and are told in this context that this is the “consequence” of a pregnancy.

Third-trimester stomach pain

The bigger the child becomes, the more the abdominal pain can increase. Towards the end of pregnancy, organs such as the intestines in the abdominal cavity are pushed to the side or together. This means that the pain can get worse, especially after eating.

The baby also becomes increasingly active, so that kicks of the baby can also cause abdominal pain. In the last third of the pregnancy, the occurrence of so-called exercise contractions can also become more frequent. These begin around the 20th week of pregnancy.

They are intended to prepare the body for the birth. The exercise contractions occur in the form of abdominal cramps lasting for about 45 seconds, three times an hour at most. However, these do not always have to be exercise contractions; they could also be premature contractions in the context of a possible premature birth.

In very rare cases, severe abdominal pain at the end of pregnancy may indicate a rupture of the uterus. Those affected feel a very strong pain. A rupture of the uterus usually occurs during birth, but in rare cases it can also occur towards the end of pregnancy.

This is a rare but dangerous complication. Abdominal pain that occurs during pregnancy is in many cases due to early labour. In medical terminology, this is referred to as “exercise labour”.

Contractions that show as light pulling or medium strong abdominal pain can already occur during the 30th week of pregnancy. As a rule, these exercise contractions are completely harmless and no cause for concern. The expectant mother’s body consciously triggers these contractions during pregnancy to prepare the uterus for delivery.

Many women notice a noticeable hardening of the abdominal wall already during these light contractions, but this disappears again after the abdominal pain has subsided. In order to differentiate between down and real contractions, some characteristics should be known. Genuine contractions trigger a strong pulling in the entire abdomen of the expectant mother.

Therefore, not only one side of the abdomen is usually affected. Many women report that the contractions radiate into the back and thighs. Further evidence that the abdominal pain during pregnancy is due to contractions can be found in the intervals between the contractions.

In real contractions the intervals become shorter and shorter. In addition, contractions are characterised by their occurrence at regular intervals. The duration of real contractions is between about 30 and 60 seconds.

Many women also report that the pain gets worse as the contractions progress. In addition, if you have abdominal pain at the end of pregnancy, you should pay attention to further details. If the abdominal pains are indeed real contractions, the rupture of the bladder occurs quite quickly in most cases. In addition, an increasing dilation of the cervix can be observed. Usually, this gradually becomes thinner and softer and assumes an opening width of about 10 centimetres.