What is Round Ligament Pain?
During the second trimester, some women experience a new pregnancy symptom: pain in their lower abdomens, most noticeable during exertion. This is sometimes referred to as round ligament pain.
What Are Round Ligaments?
The round ligaments are the bands of tough fibrous tissue that support your muscles and organs. They expand and grow to help support your uterus as it gets bigger. As these ligaments stretch, some women find it painful and are concerned. Most doctors and midwives will reassure you that these pains are a normal part of pregnancy.
During the third trimester this pain can increase as your uterus grows even bigger and the ligaments have to stretch more to support the weight of the baby, amniotic fluid, placenta and extra blood that your body is carrying in your belly. There are things you can do to reduce the discomfort.
How to Ease the Pain
- Rest – Especially after extensive exercise.
- Change Positions – If you are sitting when the pain sets in, try standing. If standing already, try bending or stretching.
- Walking – Walking around after experiencing a ligament pain can also help.
- Heat – Applying a heating pad on low can also make a difference. A warm bath or shower can have the same effect. Just be careful to not to over do it. Excessive heat is not healthy to your pregnancy and things like hot tubs or extremely hot water should be avoided.
- Medication – If the pain is so great that you are losing a lot of sleep you may ask your doctor or midwife if Tylenol can be safely taken to reduce the discomfort.
- Rubbing – Good old fashioned rubbing. We all tend to rub an area we are feeling discomfort in whether dealing with ligament pain or not. Rubbing the tender area can actually help in this case.
Be Sure It’s Not Something More Serious
Round Ligament pain should get better with time and come in spurts. If instead the discomfort you are experiencing only gets worse and worse, this could be a sign of something more serious. Common things that can at first appear to be ligament pain can actually be:
- Appendicitis – The pain experienced by appendicitis will originate from your lower right abdomen and is typically followed by fever, nausea, and vomiting. Appendicitis is reported in 1 out of 2000 women and should not be taken lightly. If you suspect you have appendicitis seek medical attention immediately.
- Kidney Stones – If blood turns up in your urine after experiencing abdominal pain you could be passing a kidney stone.
- Ovarian Cysts or an ectopic pregnancy could be the cause of sharp abdominal pains, but this is more common in the first trimester.
Some women are concerned because they don’t have symptoms of round ligament pain, or they don’t seem to suffer from it as much as other women. Not every woman will experience a large amount of pain. Generally, in a first pregnancy, the pain won’t start as early or be as severe as it is in a woman’s second, third and subsequent pregnancies. This is normal and to be expected.
After you deliver the baby, remember that your body has “memory” so after your pregnancy is over, and as your belly shrinks and your body returns to normal, these round ligaments will return to their former, pre-pregnancy shape and size. This shrinking may also cause some pain, but it shouldn’t be as severe as when the ligaments originally stretched to make room for your baby.
What methods helped you deal with the discomfort of Round Ligament Pain?
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January 15th, 2012 at 10:34 pm
I don’t know when my due date is, but I know I’m experiencing this! I had one instance about two weeks ago and thought that I was about to have a cycle since I’ve always been irregular. A week passed and following the advice of a dream, I took a pregnancy test. It was positive. Since then, my pains increase when I need to use the restroom. Sadly, my husband thinks that I’m just lazy when I need to rest because of this… What to do…
November 21st, 2011 at 8:48 am
Hi. I am 25 +3 days pregnant with my 5th baby. I woke this morning doubled up in pain on the left side of my bump. I knew it wasn’t labour pains but was still really worried. I called the hospital and was told my symptoms sounded like ligament strain due to being pregnant 4 times previous and my uterus was over stretched. I was to to rest up and take paracetamol every 6 hours. I hope this doesn’t continue for the rest of my pregnancy! I defiantly feel better knowing other woman are experiencing this too.
November 21st, 2011 at 7:31 am
i’m a first time Mom,n i just experienced a very severe pain in my lower left aroung my stomach area. i called my doctor to chck if i should be worried n he assured me that these are round ligament pains,but i have been experiencing these pains from then till now,n its almost 17 hours or so..i’m lil bit woried
October 6th, 2011 at 12:02 am
It’s so reassuring to read this article and the comments! I’m only 6 weeks with my third, and I’ve been having similar pains. I don’t remember having them really with my first two though, but that was 6 & 7 years ago. My other half seems to think I’m having multiples. I wonder if it’s true, and everything is just stretching more to make room for two babies. The uterus has already noticeably grown which I don’t remember noticing so soon with my prior two pregnancies. I don’t have my first Dr appointment for another two and a half weeks. I don’t know if my curiosity can wait that long!
June 23rd, 2011 at 11:01 am
i am 26 weeks in my 2nd preg. I never had this kind of pain with my first child. But this preg. ive done nothing but throw up, loose weight, and now add this pain to the list. It got so bad that last night we headed to the hospital cause i couldnt stand for very long, or sit or walk. And the pain started in my back and just worked around frount. Yes the pain was so bad i cried and even threw up. Doc did give me something a lil stronger then tylenole and i actually got some sleep last night. i pray it gets better cause another 11 weeks of this pain is gonna kill me. And were a scheduled c-section.
April 4th, 2011 at 7:48 am
I can only be THANKFUL for BABIES ONLINE WEBSITE. This artical particulary is soothingly reassuring of the positive.
OH, The strength of a woman. Be Blessed and enjoy your bundle…and it true…The pain should NOT BE THE CAUSE OF MAKING A WOMAN CRY, Esp.during pregnancy.
December 16th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
So glad I saw all your comments. I am on week 23 of my 3rd pregnancy. I have had many surgeries through my belly button including hernia with a mesh insertion. I have had the most severe pains lately. The bring me to tears instantly. I can’t get comfortable lying, standing or sitting. Doc said it’s normal and nothing to worry about… Another thing I’m noticing is my hips separating much sooner this time and frequent back spasms. Wondering if anyone else noticed this as well. On the up side, the baby seems healthy and strong so that is something to be grateful for. Good luck to all you other mommies out there!
November 20th, 2010 at 6:17 am
Thanks for this article. It was really useful..It releived the tension due to this pain..
November 20th, 2010 at 1:25 am
I’m on my 7th week of my 3rd pregnancy (if i can say so!! as the last 2 was missed!)…I ‘m experiencing this pain…sometimes upper abdomen and sometimes in lower…I’m upset and scared as my last 2 experiences were bad..I’ve bad dreams too..Can anyone give some moral guidance!
October 8th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Is the stabbing feeling in your cervical area also part of this round ligament pain?? I feel like a 10 lb bowling ball is sitting on my cervix and it’s very painful to walk sometimes. I’m only 9 weeks pregnant so I know it’s not the baby. LOL….
This is also my 3rd baby and I don’t recall ever having this discomfort this soon or this strong…