Abdominal/Pelvic Pain in Pregnancy and What To Do About It

Are you or have you experienced some pelvic or abdominal pains during your pregnancy?

It's scary right?

I hear ya, but don't worry you're not alone.

Did you know that over half of women will suffer with some kind of abdominal or pelvic cramps/pain during their pregnancy? During early pregnancy it can be especially worrying as the common fear is that it is one of the first signs of miscarriage. If you are spotting as well it can be terrifying!

The good news is that usually miscarriage is NOT the reason for abdominal cramps in early pregnancy. Actually cramps can be brought on by the embryo embedding itself in the lining of the uterus.

Later on in your pregnancy, around the middle to end of the second trimester and into the third trimester you may feel a different kind of pain through the lower abdominal area, the pelvis and the groin. This pain can be a lot more severe and feel like shooting pains across your belly and into your groin.

Although this can be extremely painful, (I could hardly walk when it happened to me), it is not something you need to worry about because it is fairly easy to treat. These shooting pains across the pelvis and lower abdomen are called Round Ligament Pain.

Round Ligament Pain is caused by the amount of stretching that the ligaments have to go through to support the weight of your enlarging uterus. The uterus is normally the size of a pear, but as it grows the extra weight and mass pulls on the ligaments so that they become long and tight like rubber bands. The ligaments then pull on nerve fibers and sensitive structures which cause pain.

The sharp shooting pains are caused by ligament spasms, usually on the right side as the uterus will normally roll over to the right.

To ease Round Ligament Pain:

- Always roll onto your side and use your arms to lift you from lying to sitting, lifting your head up last.

- Keep your legs together and avoid lunging positions which will stretch the ligaments even more. eg. when getting in and out of the car turn your back to the seat and sit down on the seat sideways. Then swing your legs in together.

- To ease acute attacks of RLP try the "hip hitch exercise". Standing next to a wall or a chair, gently shift your weight to the leg that is opposite to the side where you feel the pain. Lift your foot off the floor on the side that hurts by hitching your hip up in the air.

When To Seek Medical Help:

If you are suffering from any of the following, contact the emergency department immediately:

Fever

Chills

Difficulty walking

Pain when passing urine

Did you find this post helpful?

Have you or are you suffering with anything similar in your pregnancy? Post your comments below as your experience may just help another mum in need!

Bump bands, ab supports and why you should avoid them

At first I thought my abs were splitting as the linea negre has made a recent appearance, but I did the test and I'm pretty sure they're ok for now. However, they are bl*ody sore! I think coming back into a full weeks training after a week of doing nothing was a bit ambitious.

Now normally, I'd get away with it. Saying that, I don't think I've ever been away on holiday and not trained at least a couple of times whilst I've been away, but Ibiza was a complete break for me. I felt a lot worse because of it and I was dying to get back in the gym before I'd even boarded the plane!

So after a days rest, (I was exhausted after flying back in), I got back on it with vigour. I started swimming lessons on Wednesday night, gym on Thursday and Friday, taught my class on Saturday and had a rest day Sunday. Monday I was in the gym again. By Tuesday morning I was finding it difficult to walk at a normal pace because my lower abs were so sore, so I just did some gentle tai-chi and yoga at home.

On top of all this I was learning the choreography for the new Body Balance release and the core abs and back tracks are killers. Actually, I forgot about that till now! Now that I think of it, it was probably the balance that pushed my abs too hard! Today my lower abs still hurt!

Anyway, as I was in Mamas and Papas the other day I did, for the first time, have a look at the bump bands. I've always been totally anti-support bands for a very good reason. Most people are severly lacking in core strength as it is. By providing even more external support in the form of a bump band, (or in bodybuilding and powerlifting - a weight belt), you are reducing the capacity that your own muscles have to work, in order to support your own postural structure. By relying on an external crutch to do the work for you, you are telling your muscles that it's OK to switch off and stop working as there's always something else to rely on. It makes far more sense then to train your own muscles to do their job properly through core strengthening exercises, rather than rely on a crutch which won't be there in a few months time. By that time your muscles will have weakened so much that it will be a real uphill struggle to get them back into shape.

Regardless, I was in pain and I wanted something light to help me until my abs healed, so that I could carry on training in the meantime. I had no intention of using a band for long term use, just for the next couple of days and ONLY when running, as that was when I needed the extra support.

The bump bands which are marketed as a support band for your belly were nothing more than a thin layer of jersey to wear around your bump. There was no more support in them than if I were to tie a cotton scarf round my belly...

(What they were very good for is wearing over the top of low rise jeans so that when you sit down you don't flash your bottom to the world! I swear that Pepe are the only jeans brand that know how to do low rise properly, so they're low at the front but high on the bits that matter! Unfortunately they don't do maternity - I've looked fanatically!)

... So I wound up doing what I should have done in the first place. Taking a days rest to give my abs time to heal. It's what I would advise a client to do and I know that, what with learning the new choreography for my class on top of my normal training programme, I was pushing it a little bit. Unfortunatley work is work amd if I'm not doing it, I'm not getting paid.

So hopefully by tommorow my abs will be feeling somewhat normal again and it'll be back to the gym.