What causes sudden stomach pain in pregnant women?

What women worry about most during pregnancy is problems with the fetus in the belly. We all know that once a woman is pregnant, she should maintain a happy mood during pregnancy, which will help the healthy growth of the fetus. However, many women often experience symptoms such as sudden stomach pain during pregnancy, which always makes people particularly worried and scared. They don’t know what causes it. Let’s take a look at what causes sudden stomach pain in pregnant women.

What causes sudden stomach pain in pregnant women?

In the early stages of pregnancy, many expectant mothers always feel some stomach pain, sometimes accompanied by early pregnancy reactions such as vomiting. This is mainly caused by increased gastric acid secretion in the early stages of pregnancy. At this time, you should pay attention to diet adjustment. The meals should be light and easy to digest. You can eat some toasted steamed bread slices or soda crackers for breakfast. The discomfort will disappear naturally as the first trimester ends.

Some experts believe that pregnancy hormones can relax your ligaments, while your growing belly also puts a greater strain on your muscles and ligaments. Therefore, if you just have stomach pain in early pregnancy but no other symptoms, you probably don't need to worry. This lumbar pain caused by stretched ligaments will last throughout your pregnancy and may get worse as your pregnancy progresses.

If you're sexually active while pregnant, you may experience crampy abdominal pain during orgasm. This kind of stomach pain during pregnancy will neither affect your pregnancy health nor the baby in your belly.

Pathological abdominal pain:

If you have crampy abdominal pain accompanied by spotting, bleeding, fever, chills, vaginal discharge, tenderness and pain, or pain that does not subside after a few minutes of rest, especially pain in the lower abdomen, you should first consider whether it is a pregnancy complication. Common complications include threatened miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. Here are some types of stomach aches in early pregnancy that could mean a serious problem. It is recommended to go to the hospital for treatment in time.

1. Early miscarriage causes abdominal pain in early pregnancy:

If a pregnant woman experiences paroxysmal lower abdominal pain or regular abdominal pain, back pain, or pelvic pain in the first few months of pregnancy, the problem may be more complicated. If it is accompanied by vaginal spotting or a noticeable feeling of abdominal heaviness, it may indicate threatened miscarriage. Expectant mothers should move less, stay in bed more, avoid sexual intercourse, avoid lifting heavy objects, drink water, and seek medical attention promptly. You may experience cramping in the middle of your lower abdomen accompanied by bleeding and pain during the first 3 months of pregnancy.

Causes: In early pregnancy, most miscarriages are caused by poor fetal development and rarely by anything the expectant mother does.

Possible time of occurrence: 1 to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

What should we do: Seek medical attention promptly. When pain occurs, lie down or sit down with your feet elevated. If possible, try to relax. If a pregnant woman has crampy abdominal pain and heavy bleeding, call 120 emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center. After examination, the doctor will determine whether miscarriage has occurred, is occurring, or is just a risk of miscarriage.

2. Ectopic pregnancy causes abdominal pain in early pregnancy:

You may have: Cramping with pain and tenderness, usually starting on one side and spreading throughout the abdomen.

Cause: The fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, possibly in the fallopian tube, ovary, abdominal cavity, or cervical cavity.

When it may occur: Early pregnancy.

Some expectant mothers believe that abdominal pain in early pregnancy may be accidental and it is not a big deal and they just need to lie down in bed and rest. This blind measure of bed rest to protect the fetus is not advisable. You should go to the hospital for examination and treatment in time to avoid delaying the disease. You should go to the hospital immediately. If left untreated, an ectopic pregnancy can be life-threatening.

3. Late miscarriage causes abdominal pain in pregnant women:

There is also a type of abdominal pain related to miscarriage that occurs in the second trimester of pregnancy, but the symptoms and treatment methods are very similar to those of miscarriage in the early stages of pregnancy.

You may experience: Abdominal cramping with heavy bleeding.

Cause: Usually due to aging of the placenta or illness or trauma of the pregnant woman.

Possible time of occurrence: 13 weeks to 27 weeks + 6 days of pregnancy.

What we should do: If there is heavy bleeding at the same time as the cramping abdominal pain, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency center. If a miscarriage is occurring or has occurred and the abdominal pain persists, a hysterectomy may be needed. If you're just at risk of miscarriage, your doctor may recommend bed rest.

The above is an introduction to why pregnant women suddenly have abdominal pain. After understanding it, we know that there are many reasons for this phenomenon. Women must maintain a happy mood after pregnancy. At the same time, they must stay in bed more when they feel unwell. In addition, they must pay attention to nutritional balance in diet and eat more vegetables and fruits. This will be of great help to physical health and fetal growth.