Many women experience pelvic pain during pregnancy. It is a common and often debilitating problem that can make it difficult to sleep, walk, and carry out everyday activities. There are many different causes of pelvic pain during pregnancy, but the good news is that there are also many different solutions.
In this blog post, we will discuss the most common causes of pelvic pain during pregnancy and provide some tips for managing and alleviating the pain.
Causes of Pelvic Pain During Pregnancy
There are many different causes of pelvic pain during pregnancy. Some of the most common include:
- Round Ligament Pain: The round ligaments are two strong bands of tissue that support the uterus. As the uterus grows, these ligaments stretch, which can cause sharp, shooting pains in the lower abdomen or pelvis. When you move from a lying down position to a sitting or standing position, or when you cough or sneeze, this type of pain usually becomes worse. However, it should go away once your body adjusts to your growing uterus.
- Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and ligaments that support the bladder, rectum, and uterus. If these muscles become weak or tight, they can cause pain in the lower abdomen, pelvis, or rectum.
- Common pelvic floor dysfunctions include bladder prolapse (when the bladder falls into the vaginal area) and anal incontinence (when stools leak from the rectum). These problems are more common in women who have had multiple births or who are overweight.
- Ovarian Cysts: Ovarian cysts are fluid-filled sacs that develop on or near the ovaries. They are usually benign (non-cancerous) and occur when the egg is not released during ovulation or when there is a blockage in one of the ovarian tubes.
Most ovarian cysts cause no symptoms and go away on their own within a few months. However, some can cause sharp pains in the lower abdomen or pelvis on one or both sides.
These pains may be worse during your period or when you have sex. If you have an ovarian cyst that ruptures, you may experience sudden, severe pain in your lower abdomen that requires medical attention.
- In rare cases, pelvic pain during pregnancy can be a sign of more serious problems, such as
- preeclampsia, which is a condition characterized by high blood pressure.
- ectopic pregnancy, which is when the fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus.
- placental abruption, which is when the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus before delivery.
These conditions can be life-threatening for both mother and child, so it is important to call your doctor if you experience any sudden or severe changes in your symptoms.
How to sleep with pelvic pain during pregnancy:
There are different solutions for pelvic pain during pregnancy, depending on its cause. Some simple, at-home natural remedies include:
- Wearing supportive underwear or a maternity belt can help take some of the strain off your back and pelvis.
SUNNYBUY Women’s Maternity High Waist Underwear Pregnancy
Benefits of these supportive underwear when experiencing pelvic pain during pregnancy:
- Seamless material
- 85% bamboo, 7% nylon, 8% spandex
- Good size chart available when ordering
- Light and breathable fabrics
- Over the belly maternity underwear are beneficial to those who sit for long periods of the day, and/or are suffering from back or pelvic pain.
- Highly rated on Amazon
- Wearing a maternity support belt when you are on your feet
Wearing a pregnancy support maternity belt during the day when you are on your feet can help with pelvic pain due to two main reasons. The first reason is that the belt supports your abdominals and lower back, which helps reduce tension in these areas. This reduced tension often leads to less pain. The second reason is that the beltsforce you to engage your abdominal muscles more actively. Engaging these muscles helps move blood and oxygen around your body, reducing inflammation and promoting healing.
.NeoTech Care Pregnancy Support Maternity Belt
Benefits of wearing a supportive brace or belt when experiencing pelvic pain during pregnancy:
- Supports the lower back by redistributing pressure and weight
- Supports the belly and alleviates back and pelvic pressure
- Excellent for those who need to stay on their feet
- Reinforced hooks and loop fabric fasteners
- Adjustable to accommodate growth
- Breathable fabric with an elastic lining
- Highly rated on Amazon
3. Placing a pillow between your legs when you sleep helps alleviate pelvic pain during pregnancy. The best pillow will support the knees and legs at an appropriate angle.
Contour Legacy Leg & Knee Foam Support Pillow
Benefits of using a supportive knee and leg pillow when experiencing pelvic pain during pregnancy:
- Orthopedic design supports the legs and knees to help reduce pain from back, hip, leg, pelvic, knee and sciatica
- Correct angle stabilizes and takes pressure off the lower back and pelvis
- Breathable fabric
- Ventilated memory foam allows air to circulate for a cooler and more comfortable sleep
- 1 year warranty
- Highly rated on Amazon
4. Far Infrared Heat & Negative Ion Therapy
Far infrared heat therapy (FIRH) is a type of natural therapy that uses heat to treat various conditions.
They are great for relieving pain and inflammation, not only where you target it, but within the whole body in places you don’t think you need it.
They work by emitting a therapeutic wavelength of healing far-infrared light that penetrates deep into the tissue to help ease pain and swelling. Far infrared heat therapy and negative ions released from the stones is also known to stimulate the release of endorphins, which can improve mood and relieve stress.
Each person in our family has one of these far infrared and negative ion therapy heating pads for themselves. They are especially appreciated in the colder months, and no one wants to share!
The device provides a gentle, non-drying heat that is mild yet very effective in soothing aches and pains while providing a healthy heat as opposed to one coming from a regular type of heating pad.
HealthyLine Far Infrared Light Heating Pad for Pain Relief
Benefits of using a supportive knee and leg pillow when experiencing pelvic pain during pregnancy:
- 50 genuine jade and tourmaline gemstones secured in high quality construction on a flexible mat
- Experience temporary soothing pain relief in as little as 30 minutes
- Continuous use helps heal longer term issues
- Hot stone therapy helps relax tight muscles
- Increases local blood circulation
- Deeply soothing relief
- Safe heat, negative ion healing
- Highly rated on Amazon
5.Gentle pelvic strengthening and stretching exercises approved by your doctor on a regular basis, preferably daily, will provide significant relief. Pregnancy Workouts, Yoga, Pilates shows you some basic exercises in this video that is under 2 minutes:
If these measures do not provide relief, your doctor may prescribe physical therapy exercises or medications such as muscle relaxants to help ease your symptoms, but it is often better to get to the root of the problem by offering non-chemical, supportive measures instead of dulling the painful symptoms temporarily with pharmaceuticals, especially during pregnancy.
Concluding Thoughts
If you are pregnant and experiencing pelvic pain, know that you are not alone! This problem is very common among pregnant women due to all of the changes taking place in their bodies.
Consulting with an integrative doctor about what treatment options might be right for you is also an option so you can get back to enjoying your pregnancy!
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