Pregnancy & Baby 

Advertisement

Pains in lower abdomen

These two things may be related. Mild lower abdominal pain can be normal during early pregnancy. As progesterone softens ligaments and relaxes muscles in the body, it may cause the round ligaments, which suspend the enlarging uterus, to stretch and cause pain. These feel like pulling sensations in the right and left lower quadrants of the abdomen and are very annoying. They decrease in intensity in the second and third trimester. Progesterone also relaxes the bowel and slows it down, causing constipation and gas.

Make sure you eat a diet high in fibre, at least 12 grams per day. Most cereals have only one to five grams, but the less-processed cereals and breads have much more. Bran is especially good. Though most anti-gas and antacid preparations are okay to use in pregnancy, check with your pharmacist and GP before using one.

The best thing for wind in pregnancy is exercise. Even gentle stretching and yoga stimulates the bowel and gets things moving. As the uterus grows and pushes up into the abdomen, it will move off the large intestine to some degree, which will also help. Try to eat six to eight small meals a day instead of three larger ones.

If you have seen your GP already and know that the pregnancy is not ectopic, the pain is mild and there is no associated bleeding or uterine contractions or fluid loss, it is probably one of the normal common discomforts of pregnancy.

Sometimes it is pretty difficult to know what to worry about and what to ignore. Your midwife or doctor is your best advisor.

I hope things go well for you.

Delicious     Digg     reddit     Facebook     StumbleUpon

  Get the latest iVillage news on your desktop    Sign up for more iVillage RSS feeds

© iVillage Limited 2000-2008. All rights reserved. | © iVillage inc. 1995-2008. All rights reserved.
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB