Pregnancy and stomach pain

The thing pregnant women fear most during pregnancy is stomach pain, because some stomach pains are only physiological, and stomach pain may be caused by premature birth or other pathological factors caused by uterine contractions. You should be vigilant about abdominal pain in early or late pregnancy. It depends on the severity of the stomach pain, whether there are uterine contractions, and whether there is any secretion in the body. Common causes include the following. Let us understand.

What is abdominal pain during pregnancy

Abdominal pain during pregnancy refers to the pain that a woman experiences in her lower abdomen when she is pregnant. However, if the abdominal pain is caused by uterine ligament stretching, normal uterine contraction, fetal movement, etc., there is no need to worry, as it is usually a normal phenomenon.

Main reasons

Pregnant women often experience abdominal pain, and some even experience abdominal pain from the early to late stages of pregnancy. Although there are various types of pain, experts point out that the main cause of abdominal pain in pregnant women is irregular contractions of the uterus.

Other reasons

However, expectant mothers should not take abdominal pain lightly. If abdominal pain occurs, they still need to go to the hospital to carefully check for other causes, such as lesions, tumors, etc. Because the enlarged uterus during pregnancy will squeeze other organs in the abdominal cavity, it is easy for pregnant women to confuse normal abdominal pain during pregnancy with abnormal abdominal pain. Therefore, when expectant mothers have abdominal pain or other discomfort, they should go to the hospital for examination and carefully screen the cause of the abdominal pain to ensure the health of themselves and the fetus.

Classification of abdominal pain during pregnancy

For expectant mothers, abdominal pain can be roughly divided into two categories: one is physiological pain caused by pregnancy, and the other is pathological abdominal pain caused by disease.

Physiological abdominal pain

1. Abdominal pain caused by fetal movement

The 28th to 32nd week of pregnancy is the period when fetal movement is most significant. Generally speaking, the number of fetal movements in pregnant women ranges from 100 to 700 times a day. At around 20 weeks of pregnancy, the average number of fetal movements per day is about 200 times; but at 32 weeks, it may rise to around 375 times. At this time, the fetus gradually grows and occupies more and more space in the uterus. Correspondingly, the space for the fetus to move in the mother's womb is getting smaller and smaller. At this time, if the baby kicks hard, it will make the expectant mother feel pain, especially if the baby's head hits the mother's pelvic floor muscles, the pain will be more obvious.

2. Abdominal pain caused by uterus pressing on ribs

As the fetus matures, the pregnant woman's uterus also gradually expands and grows. At this time, the huge uterus will often stimulate and compress the ribs, causing pain to the pregnant woman. However, this type of abdominal pain is mostly a normal physiological phenomenon and does not require drastic treatment. It only requires some adjustments in daily life. For example, sleeping on the left side can relieve this type of abdominal pain.