I have stomach pain every night during early pregnancy

Women who have just become pregnant are relatively weak and need a period of adaptation, especially in the early stages of pregnancy, when the reaction to pregnancy is still relatively large. So nausea, confusion, vomiting, or annoyance to certain smells usually occur. Stomach pain happens sometimes, but it is not normal if it happens frequently. Especially the early pregnancy is a very critical period. So what is the reason for stomach pain every night in early pregnancy?

What causes stomach pain at night during early pregnancy?

After pregnancy, a series of changes will occur in the mother's body. Experts believe that abdominal pain at night in early pregnancy can be divided into physiological abdominal pain and pathological abdominal pain.

1. Physiological stomach pain

During pregnancy, the uterus enlarges and the round ligament of the uterus is stretched, and many pregnant women will feel some abdominal pain. This type of pain is mostly located on one or both sides of the uterus in the lower abdomen, and is referred pain, dull pain or lack thereof. The pain becomes more obvious when walking a long distance or changing body position. Pregnant mothers don’t need to worry, the symptoms can be relieved by resting in bed more. In addition, if you exert too much force during sexual intercourse in the second trimester, it may cause stomach pain in the pregnant mother, so sexual intercourse should be moderate.

2. Pathological stomach pain

As the baby grows during pregnancy, the pressure in the mother's abdominal cavity also increases. If the pregnant mother's esophageal hiatus (the hole through which the esophagus descends to connect to the stomach) widens, esophageal hiatal hernia may occur, causing abdominal pain. At this time, abdominal pain is often accompanied by symptoms such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, chest pain, acid reflux, and hiccups. The incidence of hiatal hernia during pregnancy is about 30~50%, and the symptoms are sometimes more obvious in the late pregnancy.

Therefore, pregnant mothers are advised to: eat small meals frequently, eat less sweet, spicy, or sticky food; do not lie flat on the bed or lie too low after meals, and try to bend over as little as possible to reduce acid reflux; keep bowel movements open. If you find symptoms of gastric reflux, try to raise your upper body about 20 degrees.

How to deal with stomach pain in early pregnancy

1. Ultrasound examination

In the early stages of pregnancy, if you have abdominal pain and bleeding before the fetus is implanted, your obstetrician or gynecologist will usually perform an abdominal ultrasound on you. Because of the advanced technology nowadays, it is possible to confirm whether the embryonic sac has implanted in the center of the uterus six to seven weeks after the last menstrual period; if an ultrasound examination is performed through the vagina, the embryonic sac can be seen a week earlier.

2. Abortion treatment

We would like to remind everyone that abdominal pain in the early stages of pregnancy, accompanied by abnormal vaginal bleeding, and abdominal pain and discomfort in the lower abdomen, may be a sign of miscarriage. There are two main reasons why abdominal pain in early pregnancy may lead to miscarriage. One is that the embryo itself has chromosomal or genetic abnormalities. The other reason is probably due to the mother, such as thyroid disease, diabetes, progesterone deficiency, autoimmune disease, or taking substances that are harmful to the body such as smoking, drinking, taking drugs, etc.

If miscarriage is caused by problems with the embryo itself, it will not recur. But if it is caused by the mother, we must find ways to treat it to avoid repeated miscarriages.