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It sounds to me as if you are experiencing round-ligament pain. On both sides of your uterus are ligaments, called round ligaments, that help to support it. As your uterus grows, these ligaments stretch. The stretching may cause a sharp twinge or pain when you move suddenly, turn, cough, or sneeze. The pains often occur over a period when a baby is having a growth spurt. Round-ligament pain is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. It is another one of those uncomfortable conditions of pregnancy that will go away as soon as the baby is born.
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My husband and I are scheduled to fly for three hours to visit his family. I will be 17 weeks along, and I’m scared to death that something may happen, like turbulence on the plane, or that I’ll just feel lousy the whole time. The visit will be only for a weekend, but even at home, I am uncomfortable and have trouble sleeping.
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If your pregnancy is normal and your practitioner hasn’t told you otherwise, flying at 17 weeks should be safe. Doctors and midwives discourage air travel after 36 weeks, but this is only because of the risk that a woman could go into labor during her trip.
Your letter implies, though, that either you dislike flying or you just don’t want to take this trip. Only you can decide what you’ll be comfortable doing. Discuss your feelings with your husband, and if you decide to go, be sure that he will give you the support you need. Plan to take a lot of deep breaths during the flight, allow plenty of time for rest once you arrive, and relax as much as you are able. If talking with your husband doesn’t relieve your anxiety, perhaps it is best to postpone the visit until after the baby is born.
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I was told by an ultrasound technician that I have an anterior placenta. What exactly is this? Is it why the baby’s heartbeat is sometimes hard to find, and why I don’t feel as much movement as other women who are 19 weeks along? Also, does my being overweight make it harder to feel the baby kicking?
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A placenta can implant in any number of places, including at the top of the uterus (the fundus), at the back of the uterus (posterior), or, in the case of placenta previa, in the lower portion of your uterus, covering your cervix. Having an anterior placenta means that it has implanted along the front portion of your uterus, directly under your belly button. An anterior placenta is perfectly normal, and yes, it is the reason you do not feel the baby’s movements as much as other women do. Instead of kicking directly against your abdominal muscles, the baby is kicking and pushing against the placenta. This softens the impact for you, as if you were cushioned by a pillow inside. This is also why it is sometimes hard to locate your baby’s heart-beat. My Alexander had an anterior placenta, and I was a bit disappointed that I did not feel him moving around much. If you have a layer of fat on your abdomen, this further cushions the baby’s movements.
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I am 18 weeks pregnant, and I have been having some vaginal bleeding and contractions. I am scheduled for an ultrasound check next week. My doctor told me that in the meantime, I should decrease my activities at home. He said something about “pelvic rest,” which I thought meant no sex, but now I am not sure. I am too embarrassed to call and ask him what it means. Can you help?
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You are certainly not alone in wondering what “pelvic rest” means, or feeling uncomfortable about asking a doctor for details of what you may and may not do sexually. Being on pelvic rest means you shouldn’t do anything that might cause or increase bleeding or contractions. That means you need to adhere to the following guidelines: Nothing in the vagina. This includes tampons, penis, or fingers; No orgasms (for you). They can cause contractions, so even oral sex and masturbation are out; No breast stimulation. Stimulating the breasts releases the hormone oxytocin, which can cause contractions. Once you have your ultrasound, your doctor will learn more about what may be causing the bleeding.
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Pregnancy-induced hypertension is an older term that is sometimes used interchangeably with preeclampsia. If you have high blood pressure and not the other symptoms of preeclampsia (swelling and protein in the urine), your doctor may refer to your condition as chronic hypertension. Any of these terms means that your blood pressure is too high.
One in five pregnant women spends a week or more of her pregnancy on bed rest, as treatment for any of several things—preterm labor, vaginal bleeding, placenta previa, preeclampsia, chronic high blood pressure, sciatic pain. A milder treatment for some of the same conditions is “decreased activity”—staying home most of the time, avoiding exercise, and putting your feet up for a while several times a day. Bed rest is usually prescribed with a qualifying term—partial, moderate, or strict:
Strict bed rest. You must remain in bed (or on the couch, if your doctor approves) at least 23 hours a day. You are allowed a shower only every other day, and you must remain on your side throughout all your meals. Your food, drink, and anything else you may need must be brought to you. You can get up very briefly to use the bathroom or a bedside commode, but not for any other reason. If you are at home on strict bed rest, remember that your next stop is the hospital! Knowing this may help you follow the rules at home.
Your doctor or midwife may have his or her own particular rules regarding bed rest. Follow your practitioner’s specifications; your health and your baby’s health may depend on it.
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The truth about embarrassing questions is that they often are the ones everyone has. Anything that passes through the baby’s body ends up being part of the amniotic fluid. Your baby’s urine is made up of products different from ours. The more urine your baby produces, the more amniotic fluid you have. Since your baby is not digesting any food, she is not yet having any bowel movements. Shortly before birth, however, your baby may pass a bowel movement in your womb. This first stool, called meconium, is very sticky and dark green. Meconium is ordinarily first passed in the initial few hours after birth. A baby’s passing of meconium before birth can mean that she is postmature (past 41 weeks’ gestation) or has been under some kind of stress. If you notice a greenish or dark yellowish vaginal discharge, please let your practitioner know. This could mean that your water bag has broken and that the baby has passed meconium. Your doctor or midwife will want you to come into the hospital or birth center, so that you can be checked.
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Could you tell me a little about sciatica in pregnancy? What causes it? What makes it worse? What helps eliminate it? What can you do to keep it from flaring up? Once you get it, does it last the entire pregnancy? And why do you only get it on one side or the other? Mine began at 22 weeks. At first, it felt like just a burning sensation in the buttocks, but if I do much walking, I also get shooting pains down my leg.
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Sciatic pain—or sciatica, as it is sometimes called—is probably one of the most painful conditions associated with pregnancy. Your sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in your body. It passes from your pelvis on either side and down the back of your thigh, where it divides into smaller nerves. You can pinch and injure the nerve in many ways; during pregnancy, however, compression of the nerve from the baby’s position is the most likely cause of sciatic pain. You are probably feeling the pain on the side where the compression is.
Although you can’t prevent sciatic pain, you may notice that certain positions and activities will either aggravate it or make it better. Sciatica can be completely debilitating when it flares up. Warm or cold packs, physical therapy exercises, pillows under your hip, and lying with your hips elevated may all help to relieve the discomfort, though none of these is a sure bet. Sciatica usually does not last throughout the entire pregnancy; it often disappears completely when the baby changes position. If this doesn’t happen, your sciatic pain should resolve completely when the baby is born.
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I am 30 weeks pregnant, and I’ve noticed little pimples that erupted just outside my vagina and that are starting to itch. I have had genital herpes before (although I haven’t had an outbreak for a couple of years), and I believe it may be back. Should I be concerned, should I take anything, or should I just wait for the eruption to go away? I know this could be a problem if I were about to go into labor, but that isn’t the case. What are the concerns at this point in my pregnancy?
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Any time you experience some new or unusual physical condition, whether you are pregnant or not, it is important to have a doctor or another medical practitioner check it out. Your symptoms may indicate genital herpes or another condition that should be treated. Let your practitioner know that you have had genital herpes outbreaks before. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the herpes simplex virus. Between 20 and 25 percent of pregnant women have genital herpes. Women who have outbreaks in the third trimester or at birth risk transmitting the virus to their babies, for whom the infection could be life threatening. A cesarean is the only way these women can safely deliver their babies. If you have a genital herpes lesion, it will not cause any problem as long as it heals within the next couple of weeks. Your doctor or midwife should discuss treatment options with you. Some antiviral drugs are considered safe to use in pregnancy, and new information about such drugs is becoming available all the time.
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Pets pose few dangers during pregnancy or childhood. Of course, they must be kept healthy and clean. Dogs and cats should be appropriately vaccinated. All the animals must be friendly and safe for children to be around, and even a friendly dog shouldn’t be left alone with a baby or toddler. Animals that do not tolerate children well should not be part of a human family. Most cats pay little attention to a baby. Your cats need to know, though, that the baby’s bed is not a place for them to be. Once your baby is crawling and walking, make sure that the litter box is tucked away somewhere where he can’t get to it. As your child grows, teach him to wash his hands thoroughly after handling any pet.
Lastly, enjoy your animals. They are a part of your family, and by growing up with them, your child will learn to love all of nature’s creatures.
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I am 35 weeks pregnant, and I have been said to be at high risk of complications because I have gestational diabetes and take insulin.
My doctor now wants me to have a “biophysical profile.”
What is this, and why is it done? Is it routinely done, or is this unusual? What other types of testing are done at this stage of pregnancy?-
Fetal testing such as a biophysical profile at this stage is not routine. It is done for a specific reason, such as to check the well-being of an overdue baby (at 41 weeks or beyond) or to assess the functionality of the placenta. Because you have gestational diabetes, your doctor wants to watch the baby extra closely during these last weeks of your pregnancy.
A biophysical profile uses ultrasound and takes from 20 to 60 minutes to complete. The baby is scored between zero and two points for each part. A total score below eight indicates a need for further testing. The least common of the three tests, a Doppler flow study, uses ultrasound to assess the rate of blood flow in the umbilical blood vein and in the baby’s arteries, brain, and heart. The procedure is much like a regular ultrasound exam, except that the test uses color to differentiate the blood vessels. Waveforms on an ultrasound screen show variations in the rate of the blood flow. Decreased flow may indicate that the baby is not receiving enough blood, nutrients, and oxygen from the placenta.
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About Tori Kropp
Known as "the Dear Abby of pregnancy," Tori has been interviewed on national television and radio and in national print publications, including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Washington Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution and Chicago Sun-Times.
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I am 23 weeks pregnant. A couple of weeks ago, I lifted my four-year-old and had a very painful, stretching feeling in the middle of my abdomen. I called the doctor, who said that it was probably the ligaments that hold up my uterus stretching. A few days later, the pain happened again, several times, when I would stretch or move in an unusual way. Now it happens when I walk the dog or reach for something, or even when I am sitting still. It feels like a spasm, and it actually makes me jump! Do you think I should call the doctor again?