Throughout pregnancy, your body undergoes many changes and you will also experience different kinds of pains. Lower abdominal pain is common during pregnancy and women experience it differently throughout their pregnancy journey. Sometimes, the pain might indicate a serious issue, so it’s better to be aware of the symptoms of normal as well as abnormal abdominal cramps during pregnancy.
Implantation
When the fertilized egg implants itself into the uterus, you may experience cramping and light bleeding. This happens early in pregnancy and it lasts for a couple of hours to two days. You may have lower abdominal pain, similar to menstrual cramps and is common during early pregnancy stage. Here’s how you can differentiate implantation bleeding.
Gas
This is a general condition that may occur any time, but when you are expecting, you may be bothered quite a lot by gastric problem. It’s because of the increase in hormone production, which slows down the digestive system. This causes gas and boating, triggering lower abdominal pain. Pain due to gas usually subsides in a short time and is infrequent.
Urinary Tract Infection
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is a common occurrence in most pregnant women. You may experience pain in the lower stomach and burning sensation when relieving yourself. You may notice foul smell and urine may appear cloudy or in different color. Sometimes you may also have fever. This condition can be treated easily by your doctor and it’s important to get it treated in time to avoid future problems.
Ectopic pregnancy
This is a rare occurrence in the first few weeks of pregnancy, where the egg is fertilized outside the uterus and is considered very serious to women. You may experience pain in the lower abdomen, accompanied by slight bleeding. Pain may also occur in the pelvic region and lower back. Ectopic pregnancy has to be treated immediately, otherwise the growing egg can burst the fallopian tube, creating life-threatening risk. In case if the tube bursts, you may experience intense pain in the lower abdomen that keeps getting worse. You may have severe pain in the shoulder blades and dizziness or fainting. Such a situation calls for emergency surgery.
Ligament stretching
The expanding belly adds pressure on the muscles supporting it, causing them to stretch and this causes round ligament pain. This happens throughout the pregnancy, but you may feel it mostly during second trimester. This is common and may occur suddenly due to positional changes.
Braxton Hicks
Women experience contractions during their third trimester, known as practice pains which are intended to prepare yours body for the birthing process. You may feel lower abdominal cramps, which usually disappear when you relax or change positions.
