Stomach Pains During Pregnancy

stomach pains during pregnancy.

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If you are a first time mom pregnancy can be overwhelming. It brings along with it a bunch of bizarre changes to your body. Knowing the difference between normal pregnancy symptoms and the ones that are more serious can be hard to decipher. In this post we are going to talk about stomach pains during pregnancy, what causes them, when you should consult your OB, and simple hacks to help you feel a wee bit better.

I want to emphasize that I am NOT a doctor. If you feel like something is wrong or abnormal, call your doctor right away. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a million times, you know your body best. It is much easier to call your doctor to make sure everything is okay rather than staying up all night trying to self diagnose or putting something more serious off.

 

Most of the time stomach pains during pregnancy are very common. Think about it. Your body is growing a little babe. It is changing, expanding, constantly rearranging. No wonder you have aches and pains. As your uterus grows, its displaces your bowel (which can also be the reason you feel nauseous, feel full easily, or have pain in your abdomen) read that again, it literally displaces your bowel. Crazy huh? The solution is to eat more frequent smaller meals, exercise, rest as often as you can, and empty your bladder a million times a day.

Another culprit could be your ligaments. Two big ligaments that travel off the front of the uterus and down into the groin can get stretched by your uterus as it enlarges. Sounds super fun. This type of pain is most often described as lower abdominal discomfort that radiates into the groin. It can be sharp pains when you change positions or dull and achy. This type of pain normally begins in the second trimester and good news, will resolve on its own.

Constipation and gas are unfortunately likely to follow you throughout your entire pregnancy. The reason this is happening is because during pregnancy your body starts producing more progesterone, a hormone that slows down your entire gastrointestinal tract. This is turn makes everything travel much more slowly through it. Drinking plenty of water and eating fiber-rich foods should help you, if it doesn’t relieve your problem ask your doctor, they may recommend a stool softener or a fiber supplement!

The dreaded UTI’s. I know what you’re thinking, pregnancy is hard enough without having to deal with UTI pain. I totally get it. However it is more common than you would think. With everything changing it makes sense as to why almost 10% of women get them at some point throughout their pregnancy. The real concern with UTI’s during pregnancy is the risk of them turning into a kidney infection is much higher than a non pregnant person. If you feel the sudden urge to pee, pain or burning while peeing, or any blood, call your doctor and drink a bunch of water. Stay hydrated Mama.

 

Most of the time these stomach pains, aches, and cramps are just a part of the journey. So don’t stress yourself out too much, and for Pete’s sake stop googling your symptoms. You are not going to die in 7 hours! Happy cramping Mama! Xoxo


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Written by Whitney Rowley