Pregnancy belly suddenly hard

We all know that women will show various symptoms during pregnancy, which is very normal. There are also many common problems in the late pregnancy. A hard belly in the late pregnancy is relatively common. So, why does the belly suddenly become hard during pregnancy?

What is the reason for the sudden hardening of the belly during pregnancy?

1. Folk saying: A hard belly in late pregnancy indicates a girl

In the later stages of pregnancy, as the uterus continues to expand and the fetus grows, the baby's activity space is reduced. Therefore, when the baby wants to move a lot, it will offend the belly, especially for baby girls. Many folk legends have mentioned that baby girls are held close to their mothers, so their buttocks face their mother's belly. In this way, when the mother's baby moves, a big bulge will form on her belly, and it will be a little hard. Although this has not been verified by real scientific research, many pregnant mothers with baby girls have this phenomenon.

2. Scientific research shows that a hard abdomen in late pregnancy is a false labor.

The belly is hard in the late pregnancy. The scientific explanation is false labor and painless labor. This is because the uterus becomes more sensitive in the late pregnancy, and some stimulation will cause labor. These labors are different from the labors before delivery, and will not cause premature delivery due to the fetus. However, pregnant women should also pay attention to these false labors. When the belly becomes hard, they should stop what they are doing and take a rest immediately. If false labor occurs while walking on the road, stop and wait until the labor subsides before continuing.

What causes a hard belly in late pregnancy?

1. Infection and others

The cause of premature birth is often infection, mainly including reproductive system infection and amnionitis. However, urinary tract infection and gastrointestinal infection can also cause the above symptoms. In addition, when the fetus moves frequently in the belly, some pregnant women may also feel tightness, hardness, and pain in the lower abdomen. The way to prevent this kind of disease is to let pregnant women sleep on their left side, which can increase the blood volume of the uterus and embryo, avoid or reduce continuous uterine contractions. It is strictly forbidden to have sex in the late pregnancy to prevent urinary tract infections. Smokers need to quit smoking and drinking.

2. Premature babies

This refers to childbirth before the full 37th week of pregnancy. Pregnant women generally experience uterine contractions, which are mainly manifested by tightness, hardness, and abdominal pain in the lower abdomen. If there are 2 to 3 contractions every 10 minutes, lasting more than 30 seconds, or accompanied by pink discharge from the vagina, it is a sign of premature birth and you need to go to the hospital for a physical examination and observation. If during the observation process there is progressive dilation of the cervix and the cervix is ​​more than 2 cm dilated, premature birth will be inevitable.

3. False labor at the end of pregnancy

It is the irregular, weak, painless contractions that occur during pregnancy. Its characteristic is that it often appears at night and disappears the next morning. This is different from the labor pains in the late pregnancy, which are mainly characterized by short intervals and regular gradual abdominal pain. Most pregnant women will not feel any discomfort, but some pregnant women with sensitive sensory nerves may mistake the normal contraction of the uterus for labor contractions. According to statistics, about 1/3 of the so-called threatened premature birth cases are not real births, but false births.

4. It may also be that pain is coming

If a pregnant woman is about to give birth (within 3 weeks before the due date, that is, when she has entered full-term pregnancy), she feels regular abdominal hardening, and this happens repeatedly, it may mean that real labor (delivery) is about to come.

The easiest way to distinguish this type of abdominal tightness and pain is to use the "151 rule", which is: if each contraction lasts at least 1 minute, with an interval of 5 minutes or less, and this situation lasts for at least 1 hour, then this is the pain before delivery, and you should see a doctor immediately.

For pregnant women who often experience the above symptoms and cannot diagnose the cause themselves, or if they often have a hard abdomen in the late pregnancy, they can do fetal heart monitoring to observe whether there are irregular uterine contractions. If there are irregular uterine contractions, appropriate treatment should be given.