Although some of the women get alarmed by it, experiencing stomach pain during pregnancy is quite common. There are some perfectly normal reasons for it, but in the same time if the pain gets worse or it lasts in time, it may indicate something more serious that should be checked out.
Ectopic pregnancy and pregnancy stomach pain
Ectopic pregnancy refers to the situation when the fertilized egg doesn’t get implanted in the uterus, but somewhere else. In majority of the cases, this happens in the fallopian tubes. Usually the pain occurs about 6-7 weeks after fertilization and in this case it is vital to take action as soon as possible.
Early pregnancy loss
Pregnancy stomach pain could also occur because of a miscarriage that usually happens during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. Other symptoms include vaginal bleeding or spotting accompanied by pain. The bleeding could be light or heavy and the intensity of the pain could also vary from person to person.
Braxton-Hicks contractions
These contractions are one of the most common causes of stomach pain during pregnancy. Usually it begins in the last trimester when the women experience the tightening of the uterus. The contractions are supposed to be infrequent, irregular and painless. Also you could also have lower back pain.
Premature labor
Labor is considered premature if it happens before the 37th week of pregnancy and it causes pregnancy stomach pain. Some other signs include vaginal discharge, vaginal spotting or bleeding, several contractions every hour and most probably you will also experience lower back pain.
Placenta abruption
This is a quite uncommon but is a serious problem causing stomach pain during pregnancy. If you get affected by the problem then you will experience profuse bleeding, uterine cramps and tenderness, contractions and back pain too. Also the baby will get less active.
Preeclampsia
This is a disorder leading to pregnancy stomach pain and it is caused by changes of organs like the brain, liver, placenta and kidneys but also changes in the blood vessels. Besides the pain you could also experience swollen hands, eyes, ankles and feet. The main reason of the problem is that your body is retaining water.
Constipation
If the stomach pain during pregnancy is mild, it could be due to constipation. The pregnancy hormones slow down digestion and so it takes more time for food to get through the digestive tract. The growing belly also puts more pressure on the rectum and so the whole process becomes even slower.
Bladder infection
You may know, regarding pregnancy stomach pain, that during pregnancy you are more susceptible to infections. If you have a bladder infection, your urine gets cloudy and bloody with a foul smell and a frequent urge to use the toilet. The bad news is that the infection could get to the kidneys too.
Round ligament pain
In case this is the cause of your stomach pain during pregnancy, you should know that the ligament supporting the uterus thickens and stretches according to the changing size of the uterus. The pain caused by this could be     brief, long lasting, sharp or jagging. Some activities could make the pain worse.
Naturally there are some other things as well that could cause pregnancy stomach pain. These include viral infections of the stomach, stones in the gallbladder of kidneys, inflammation of the pancreas, appendicitis and also blockages of the bowel. Gallstones are quite common among pregnant women.
If you are affected by stomach pain during pregnancy you should try to find out what is causing it, just to make sure that there is nothing serious threatening the little one.
