When your uterus starts contracting and changing the cervix before 37 weeks, it is called preterm labor. It means your baby could be born too early. These contractions may or may not be painful. They often feel like a firming of your entire uterus. This is different from your baby's kicks or movements.
During pregnancy, many women feel pressure, or heaviness, around the vagina. This is normal and can happen in the first, second, or third trimester. Her body will not only need to provide space and nutrients for a new person to develop but will have to produce an entirely new organ in the form of a placenta. With so many changes happening, it is not surprising that many women notice sudden and unusual shifts in how their bodies feel. Vaginal, pelvic, or lower abdomen pressure is common in all three trimesters of pregnancy. Read on to learn about the causes and symptoms of vaginal pressure during each stage of pregnancy, as well as treatment options and possible complications.
Lightning Crotch, Back Pain, and 6 Other Pregnancy Pains That Are Totally Normal
If your pelvis is aching, you're not alone. Up to 80 percent of pregnant women experience pelvic pain at some point, mostly in that final trimester when stress on the pelvic region is especially intense. Pain, however, can hit at almost any point in the pregnancy, and its impact can range from minor a few twinges, aches or a general feeling of heaviness and pressure in the pelvic region to debilitating a searing sensation that wraps around your back and snakes down below your growing belly. Pinpointing just what it is or, rather, what it isn't is tough because it's such a wide-ranging problem and can sometimes difficult to describe to your obstetric provider.
Pregnancy comes with all kinds of body weirdness and discomfort. There will be pains — some expected and some out of left field. Maybe you thought vaginal pain would come up only during delivery, but then you felt a bolt of lightning through your nethers.