Would you be concerned about cramps like this?

[JessieBird]

Hey there - twice today I have had severe cramping. First time was at about 7:30 (ET, so four hours ago) this morning. I had been kind of squatting getting DS dressed and the pain hit when I stood up. Second time was just a minute a go, I felt fine then it hit just as I stood up getting out of the car. It feels like the stiches you get when exercising after eating except it's low down and across the entire underside of my belly. The intense part of the cramp lasted about 45 seconds then gradually dissipated and was gone within 3 minutes. There was no contraction or tightening along with it but it was bad enough that I couldn't move or hardly talk - it totally took my breath away and I usually have a very high pain tolerance.

Do you think random cramps like this are just normal uterine stretching? I am not feeling any pressure or menstrual-like feelings. No blood. Would you call the MW or ignore it as random mystery pregnancy discomfort? I'm tempted to ignore it unless it keeps happening.

Thanks and hope everyone is having a great day!

[rparker]

Since it's only happening when you stand up my uneducated guess is that pregnancy has thrown some random back or stomach muscle(s) (round ligament maybe?) out of whack and that's what's causing the pain. If this were your first pregnancy I'd say error on the side of caution and give the midwife a call, but since you already know what labor feels like with your body there really wouldn't be much point As long as there's no discharge, bleeding, and the pain isn't continuous it's probably perfectly safe to ignore.

If this happens very many more times though or gets worse you might want to see a chiropractor. I'm normally not big on chiropractic care, but I'm seeing one during this pregnancy since my hips and back are doing all sorts of funky (painful) things and it's pretty amazing the difference it can make. Some gentle stretches might "fix" the issue as well. The ones in Active Birth have helped me a lot.

[Melly24]

I had pain exactly like you are describing a couple of days ago. It happened mostly when I was on my feet and moving around. I also noticed it happened mildly when emptying my bladder, so put it down to a possible UTI about to flare up. I drank loads and loads of water, and pee'd like crazy for a day. Woke up the next day feeling great and havnt had it since.

I also felt "off" a couple of days leading up to the pain day, but couldn't put my finger on where or why until the pain started.

[Green_Ma_4]

I would most def get checked out. Even more so if you have ever had a c-section. Thats almost exactly what my pain was cept it was through my back as well.

[JessieBird]

It happened once more, though more mild than the previous two times. It was triggered when I coughed so I think rparker is right - that there's some kind of muscle pull or stress down there. So far nothing today (it's early yet but DS has had me playing since dawn!) and I slept great. I'll just see how the morning goes before spending a beautiful sunny (and cool!) day at emerg.

[lotusma]

i would first rule out constipation and dehydration, and if it wasn't either of those and still not resolved, i would raise the concern to your cp.

[Amila]

One time I had pain like that but it happened to me in the middle of the night when I was 12 weeks pregnant with DS. I thought i was having a miscarriage! I called the midwife after 20 minutes, and she said it sounded like round ligament, and to take a warm bath and some tylenol, which I did. Pain went away. It was so weird though, because it WAS cramp-like. I would just call to get reassurance, but I am sure it is just some stretching.