Belly Hurts in the Second trimester
Summary: Many women are so excited when their morning sickness has finally eased up and now their pregnancies should be clear sailing from here on for them.  However some find out that often their belly hurts during the second trimester of their pregnancies.

While some achiness is normal, severe abdominal pains or cramps is far from normal and must be reported to your health care provider right away.  If the pain continues or you have bleeding, fever, chills and cramps, you must see a physician as this could be a virus or pre-term labor, either of which could put you and your baby at risk.

There are many things that can cause a pregnant woman to have belly/abdominal pain, some relatively benign and some that are much more serious.  One is problems with implantation.  Some discomfort is not uncommon while the embryo is implanting herself in the uterine wall.

Another event which takes place over a period of time is stretching of the ligaments that support the uterus.  This can cause a dull ache across the abdomen or in some cases a sharp pain on one side.  The pain may worsen when you cough or try to get up from a bed, chair or to get out of the bathtub.  This may be a good time to have a support bar mounted near the tub so you can get in and out easier.

False labor, which can occur in the second and third trimester, is another possible cause of belly discomfort.  This condition is characterized by irregular, sometimes painful contractions which sometimes go away if you change positions or go for a walk and don’t increase in intensity.  This is called Braxton Hicks contractions and is pretty common in the second and third trimester.

The discomfort can feel like lower back pain or menstrual cramps.  Some other causes of belly pain includes gas pains as well as pain caused by the increasing hormone levels and by pressure from the growing uterus.  All of this is a normal part of the second trimester of pregnancy.

What, if anything, can you do to alleviate the discomfort of your hurting belly?  Bend your body toward the pain, go for a leisurely walk, change your position and maybe do light housework.  Believe it or not, it does help alleviate the discomfort.

If you experience severe pain with irregular spacing and fever, check with your health care provider since this could be due to a virus, food poisoning, gall bladder disease, a urinary tract infection, appendicitis or complications of pregnancy. You need to have it checked to figure out if your symptoms are due to a pregnancy related issue or other possible emergency medical condition.

Why should you be concerned about a bit of pain in the belly when you are pregnant?  There are a couple of serious medical conditions that could put you and your baby at risk.

Pre-eclampsia - (a.k.a. toxemia) is a serious condition characterized by high blood pressure and elevated protein levels in the urine. There can also be what is called “pitting edema”, swelling of the face, hands, and feet.  When you press on the swollen spot the pit created remains for awhile instead of bouncing right back.  This condition has the potential to be fatal to the mother and baby.  Often there are no symptoms until near disaster strikes, so if you have ever had high blood pressure you will need and want to closely monitor that.

Ectopic Pregnancy - An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fertilized egg implants in a place other than the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube.However in rare cases it might implant to the ovary, abdominal wall or the cervix.  In some cases as the fetus grows outside the uterus there is the potential for the organ where it is attached to rupture.  Obviously there can be no live birth in this case.  There may be severe bleeding and intense (belly) abdominal pain.  This is unfortunately always fatal to the baby, but if treated right away the mother generally does fine.  One question a lot of women who have had an ectopic pregnancy ask is “Can I get pregnant again after an ectopic?”  Some report problems conceiving again.  However there are other women who report successful post ectopic pregnancies.

However, consult with your physician about this matter, he is your best source for important information such as this.  Websites like this can give the same basic information, but only your physician can tell you what your best course of action would be in this situation.

If you are still in your second trimester and begin having contractions that are regularly happening every five to ten minutes, cramps that feel like your period, pelvic pressure, change in vaginal discharge and maybe low back pain, you may be having pre-term labor.  Call your health care provider.  In some cases if the baby is big enough they may allow labor to continue or they may put you on complete bed rest in the hopes of delaying delivery. Sometimes an infection of terbutaline or ritrodine is given.

These drugs relax smooth muscle and this action may slow labor but it doesn’t stop it altogether.  However even if it only delays the birth for a few hours, every extra minute you can give that precious child is great.  It may make the time between contractions a little bit longer.  This may give them the extra time to transfer you to a facility that has a neonatal intensive care unit that can handle any potential problems that prematurely may cause.