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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23 Responses to “What is Round Ligament Pain?”
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Rasheda Collins says...
I truly appreciate this article. A burden has been lifted!!! Praise be to God. This is my 2nd pregnancy and I was a little worried because I am experiencing mild cramping on and off.
Carlissa Brooks says...
This is a great article.. This is baby number 2 for me andi was a little nervous because i have been feeling alot of pain and cramping. so now i know what it is, it is easier so deal with.
cindyandnic says...
wow.this is my first pregnancy.i did felt it too.i had cramp due to implantation and a week after that…sometimes it can be intense and felt like a sharp knife pain or sting by needle.but it wont last long..my nurse assured me its normale as long as there is no bleeding…
A.B.S. says...
Very informative article! I found it to be very helpful and it relieves some worry….
Becca G says...
Great article thought it didn’t mention there are exercises you can do to help this problem. Kegels do help as well as a few others.
nadine says...
Very informative article, but how long may the pain last ?
Valeria says...
I’m 25 weeks of my second baby and I did have this pain about 2 weeks ago on a very busy ans activity day, I was very sacry. I did took a warn bath, massage w/ oil and rest the pain stoped and I did’nt have this again. good look for all.
Jaemie says...
I am 28 weeks into my first pregnancy and had very bad pains throughout my entire 2nd semester. I have had multiple abdominal surgeries in the past and wanted to let other former surgery patients know that adhesions (scar tissue that forms internally post-op) may increase ligamental stretching pain during pregnancy. Don’t panic, it gets milder as the pregnancy progresses (at least it did for me).
josefina says...
thank you so much!!!! this is my third pregnancy but, i did not recall feeling this cramps. I thought i was having problems since my last pregnancy was 10 years ago and now i am 42. I made an appoiment to see my doctor but, feel much better.THANKS!!!
Michelle says...
This article is helpful I’m on my third pregnancy and have experienced all these symptoms. I’m concerned because I had really bad lower back pain went and had an ultra sound I’m almost five weeks gestation but all we see is 2 sacs no fetus yet. Still concerned.
Joan Romer says...
great article, helps me not to worry to much………
Tshego says...
Great article..i am 11 weeks in my pregnancy and it frightened me to feel these pains..atleast now i can rest with a peace of mind..
dani says...
First pregnancy here, wondering if this is only sharp, acute pains or could also be more of a dul ache? I feel more sore than crampy. Chalked it up to things changing and growing, it’s not outrageous or concerning to me. Would make sense here but it isn’t a “cramp” it’s as if i did a ton of sit-ups yesterday – and lord knows THAT ain’t it! lol!!
and prayers to you, michelle.
ps – i have a belly button scar form laproscopic surgery years ago – wondering how that will stretch out then…anyone else have that surgery/scar?
Ryanne says...
Hi dani,
I had laproscopic surgery a couple years ago also. I have had a baby since then and am pregnant again. I had 5 incisions, one in the belly button, and didn’t notice anything weird with the belly button. It never poked out, it just got completely flat and smooth.
I am wondering, though, if the scars that may have formed internally are what is causing my severe pain. It started yesterday and I’m going on 17 hours of pretty severe pain. It doesn’t hurt so bad when I’m just sitting, but walking is very painful. Didn’t get much sleep. I’ve been in tears a couple times and the nurse I talked to, said that is normal. Really?!?! I had a natural childbirth, so I know pain, I know I’m not just being wimpy! This is ridiculous!
dani says...
so sorry to hear that, ryanne! i would ask a doctor. unfortunately i have seen so far it seems pregnancy seems to bring out the drama queen in some of us….maybe first line of defense for doctor offices is, “oh, yer fiiiine!” to weed out some of the crazies.
i don’t think you should be crying. and if you’ve done it already…and it’s not like before….??? yea. i’d ask again.
and thanks about the scar question. it’s sometimes still quite tender if i poke myself in the belly button with my pants button, just wondering what all that stretchng and popping was going to do to it….
Karyn says...
If the scare still tender then expect more pain than most around weeks 19 until 23 as your uterus moves abouve the navel. Most women experiance some amount of pain around the navel at this time and if you have a recent scar that is still a bit tender just be aware its gonna hurt a little more especialy as you change possitions from laying to sitting or sitting to standing (mine sure did) but as said previous no pain during pregnancy should be sever and cause you to cry, nor even enough to be unable to sleep or move (lord knows pregnant women have many other reasons for this and pain SHOULD NOT be one of them) If at anytime you experiance pain bad enough for the abouve mentioned then definately make an apointment to see your Dr ASAP and if you are bleeding or have watery discharge make a visit to the emergancy room to be sure your not in preterm labour.
Bec says...
I recommend Magnesium Phosphate tissue salts to ease the pain. My pain had been excruciating but has subsided since taking them.
Tonya Burgess says...
this Article was really of so much use thankyou! i have been experiencing so much pain on the bottom part of my abdomen when walking alot or lying still then twisting to roll over!! i even went to the midwife with it! but knowing that alot of you had these pains too and its all normal makes me relax a bit! so thankyou!!!
Aundreya says...
You know, as much as I’ve read about pregnancy and birth, I had not read this exact description. I read that in the first weeks you might experience cramping as your uterus stretches but that’s all I got.
This is my 3rd pregnancy and my last was over 13 years ago lol (I’m 35) so I was getting a little worried when the sharp pain would come and just not go away. (I never experienced any pain like this with my other 2) The other day I was literally doubled over in pain but I knew it wasn’t any kind of labor pain because it was right in the lower middle of my stomach and just one of those really sharp pains you get when you turn the wrong way.
I’m 24 weeks and I hope this doesn’t last the whole pregnancy! It’s quite annoying!
nicole says...
I actually had the ligament pain starting at week 7 with my first pregnancy. It was so bad that I was actually on short term disability because I could not stand for more than 20 min without crying. It hurt all the time no matter what I was doing. I have it with this pregnancy too, I am about 20 weeks. It isn’t as bad this time but I know it can be. I know it is scary but rest assured even with it all you can have a healthy happy baby.