Symptoms
The main symptom is painful ribs. The quality of these symptoms influences which diseases are primarily suspected as triggers and is therefore important. Stinging and only short-lived complaints are usually harmless and can be attributed to the lack of space in the body.
Even if the complaints can be associated with the abdominal muscles, harmless overuse of the muscle attachments can be assumed. Even if the causes are classified as harmless, the pain can be very severe and even radiate into the spine. The pain usually begins to appear from about the second half of pregnancy and suddenly disappears from the 38th week of pregnancy, when the baby’s head enters the pelvis for birth, creating a little more space in the upper abdomen. If the pain is caused by the HELLP syndrome, other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea usually occur in addition to the characteristic and long-lasting pain of the right upper abdomen and ribs. By examining certain blood parameters, the HELLP syndrome can be definitively confirmed by a doctor.
Therapy
A causal therapy for painful ribs during pregnancy is very difficult to implement. In most cases a lack of space within the body of the pregnant woman is responsible for the discomfort. This can only be remedied by the birth of the child.
In order to relieve the painful side a little, the weight of the child should be shifted to the non-painful side. For example, if complaints occur on the right ribs, lying on the left side of the body can often provide temporary relief from pain. The use of special pregnancy cushions also aims to relieve the strain and is helpful for this type of complaints. If the pain is caused by the so-called HELLP syndrome, immediate delivery is indicated. If the presence of this syndrome is suspected, an emergency doctor should therefore be called immediately and a hospital should be visited.To prevent seizures (eclampsia) during the last trimester of pregnancy, the administration of magnesium and so-called benzodiazepines should be considered.
