Why Is My Belly So Big At 6 Weeks Pregnant
Cramping And Belly Pains
OK, this one makes people a little nervous, but having mild cramps or stomach pain isnt unusual this early in pregnancy. Your uterus is going through a lot of changes thats bound to cause some discomfort.
Plus, remember the bloating we talked about before? That can make you constipated and gassy, too, which might make your tummy feel not so great.
None of this should be intensely painful, though it might just feel like period cramps.
Pregnancy Heartburn Or Indigestion
Heartburn is a burning feeling that starts in the stomach and seems to rise up to the throat. During pregnancy, changing hormone levels slow down your digestive system, weaken the stomach sphincter, and your uterus can crowd your stomach, pushing stomach acids upward.
Recommendations:
- Avoid fried, spicy, or rich foods, or any foods that seem to give you indigestion.
- Ã Don’t lie down right after eating.
- Ã Keep the head of your bed higher than the foot of your bed. Or place pillows under your shoulders to prevent stomach acids from rising into your throat.
- Ã Don’t mix fatty foods with sweets in one meal, and try to separate liquids and solids at meals.
- Try heartburn relievers such as Gaviscon, Maalox, Mylanta, Riopan, Titralac, or Tums.
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Pregnancy Bleeding And Swollen Gums
You may not have expected pregnancy to affect your mouth. But your blood circulation and hormone levels can make your gums tender and swollen, and you may notice they bleed more easily. You may also develop nose bleeds.
Recommendations:
- Get a dental checkup early in your pregnancy to make sure your teeth and mouth are healthy. See your dentist if you notice a particular problem.
- Brush your teeth, floss regularly and rinse daily with an antiseptic mouthwash.
Pregnancy Nausea Or Vomiting
It’s very common — and normal — to have an upset stomach when you’re pregnant.
Chalk it up to pregnancy’s hormonal changes. It usually happens early in pregnancy, while your body is adjusting to the higher hormone levels.
Good news: Nausea usually disappears by the fourth month of pregnancy . It can happen at any time of the day but may be worse in the morning, when your stomach is empty or if you aren’t eating enough.
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Does Your Upper Stomach Feel Bloated In Early Pregnancy
What Are Five Common Signs Of Pregnancy
There are several signs of early pregnancy that you could experience. Not everyone will have all of these symptoms, and some women may not feel any of these things. Pregnancy symptoms throughout the entire pregnancy can vary dramatically between women. Its important not to compare your pregnancy to someone elses.
Common early pregnancy symptoms can include:
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Stomach Pain In Pregnancy
Stomach pains or cramps are common in pregnancy. They’re usually nothing to worry about, but they can sometimes be a sign of something more serious that needs to be checked.
It’s probably nothing to worry about if the pain is mild and goes away when you change position, have a rest, do a poo or pass wind. But if you have stomach pains and are worried, call your midwife or maternity hospital.
Harmless stomach pains, which can be dull or sharp, may be caused by:
- ligament pain this can feel like a sharp cramp on one side of your lower tummy
- constipation which is common in pregnancy
Figuring Out Your Due Date
Your doctor will typically use the first day of your last period to calculate your due date by adding 40 weeks to that date.
This only works if you have normal menstrual cycles, though. It assumes that you conceived 14 days after your last period started. If your cycles are shorter or longer than the average 28 days, you might not have conceived around day 14 of your cycle. In that case, the calculated due date will be inaccurate.
If you know precisely when you conceived and it wasnt around day 14, you can talk to your doctor about adjusting your due date. However, they may not feel its necessary unless you have reason to think the numbers are way off.
If you know your cycles skew closer to 35 or 40 days, your doctor may order an early ultrasound to more accurately date your pregnancy.
Remember, even if you didnt conceive exactly on day 14, as long as your cycles are average length, your due date will be close enough its only an estimate, anyway!
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When To Call Your Doctor
Talk to your doctor if:
- You have severe nausea and vomiting, dehydration, a persistent rapid heartbeat, or pale, dry skin you may have hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness.
- You have vaginal spotting or bleeding you may be having a miscarriage or serious placental complication.
- You have sudden weight gain over a few days, severe headache, or blurred vision you may have preeclampsia, a form of high blood pressure that can endanger your health and the health of your baby.
- You have a fever over 100 F and chills, backache, or blood in your urine you may have a kidney infection or other infection.
- After the baby begins to move, you feel less or no movement for more than 2 hours your baby may be in fetal distress.
- You feel wetness or a leaking of fluid, unlike normal vaginal secretions or urinary leakage you may have ruptured membranes or leaking of amniotic fluid.
How To Deal With It:
Youll probably want to invest in some different kinds of bras, which could be larger, made out of cotton, and underwire-free. Wearing a bra to bed might help ease the pain as well. Though your larger twins might look enticing to your partner, make sure you let them know that they are welcome to look, but touching should be kept to a minimum.
If you’re pregnant, your body is working hard to make another human, so you’re feeling tired for many reasons!
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How Does A Pregnant Belly Feel In Early Pregnancy
Which Side Is The Baby On During Pregnancy
Experts recommend lying on your left side. It improves circulation, giving nutrient-packed blood an easier route from your heart to the placenta to nourish your baby. Lying on the left side also keeps your expanding body weight from pushing down too hard on your liver. While either side is okay, left is best.
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Are Cramps Normal During Early Pregnancy
Stomach cramps during early pregnancy are relatively common. If you get a few stomach cramps during the first trimester of pregnancy, its probably not a cause for alarm. These cramps are typically part of the normal physical changes in the body that occur in preparation for the baby.
Very early in your pregnancy, you may get cramps as well as light bleeding when the embryo is implanted into the wall of the uterus. This process can sometimes lead to implantation cramps and bleeding. As the pregnancy progresses, you may also feel cramping as your uterus changes and stretches to accommodate the baby.
In the following sections, we will talk about the causes of pregnancy cramps and when to call your health care provider.
Vulva Change In Colour
What else could it be?
Lesley tells us: This purple-blue discolouration of your vulva can be observed as early as four weeks of pregnancy but, unless you are regularly looking at your vulva, you may not be aware of it as it wont feel any different. Although many women experience this change in colouration, the absence of Chadwicks sign does not mean that you are not pregnant.
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What The Doctor Does
To determine whether emergency surgery is needed, doctors first check blood pressure and temperature and ask about key symptoms, such as vaginal bleeding. Doctors then ask about other symptoms and the medical history. They also do a physical examination. What they find during the history and physical examination often suggests a cause and the tests that may need to be done .
The physical examination focuses on the pelvic examination Pelvic Examination For gynecologic care, a woman should choose a health care practitioner with whom she can comfortably discuss sensitive topics, such as sex, birth control, pregnancy, and problems related to… read more . Doctors gently press on the abdomen to see whether pressing causes any pain.
Case & Commentarypart 1
A 34-year-old woman who was 14 weeks pregnant presented to the emergency department with 5 days of nonspecific abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. On examination, she appeared well with normal vital signs and had some mild diffuse abdominal tenderness. Her white blood cell count was 19,000 cells/L, and a urinalysis was positive for nitrates and leukocyte esterase . She was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and was discharged on antibiotic therapy. No imaging was performed at this initial visit.
The patient returned the following day with unchanged abdominal pain and more nausea and vomiting. A fetal ultrasound was performed and found normal fetal heart activity. No further testing was done, and she was discharged home with instructions to continue the antibiotics.
Abdominal pain remains the most common reason for emergency department visits, comprising more than 11% of all visits in 2008. In 2011, 54% of patients that presented to the ED were female, more than 25% were of childbearing age, and the pregnancy rate in the United States is approximately 10% at any given time. For these reasons, clinicians that evaluate patients with abdominal pain in the ED should be familiar with common causes of abdominal pain in pregnant women and appreciate when nausea and vomiting in pregnancy is abnormal.
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Is Nausea A Sign Of Implantation Or Early Pregnancy
It is unusual to have morning sickness during implantation, as according to the American Pregnancy Association nausea typically shows up between 2 to 8 weeks after conception.15 However it is not impossible, and pregnancy symptoms vary from woman to woman, as does the time of onset for the symptoms.
Nausea during early pregnancy is one of the most common symptom that women report. The American Pregnancy Association say that up to 70% of women experience nausea at some point during early pregnancy. Nausea usually occurs during the first trimester, although some women will experience nausea all throughout their pregnancy.
Understanding When Youll Be Most Fertile
When your body releases an egg during ovulation, it has 12 to 24 hours to live. Yikes! It must meet a sperm during that time, or else it dies and you wont get pregnant.
But heres the good news if youre trying to get pregnant: Sperm have a much longer life. In fact, sperm can live for up to seven days inside of your body.
So, its possible that if you have sex shortly before ovulation, you can get pregnant from sperm that was waiting inside your body.
You may want to track your fertility so you know when you have the highest chances of getting pregnant. At the end of week 1, its possible to get a better idea of when youll ovulate by:
- charting your menstrual cycle on a calendar
- checking your cervical mucus
- continuing to measure your basal metabolic temperature if you use this method of family planning
- using ovulation test strips that measure your bodys hormone levels, and can tell you whether or not youre ovulating
All of this is sometimes called the fertility awareness method. It may help you get pregnant, but its not the most reliable form of birth control so beware.
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What Do Early Pregnancy Stomach Pains Mean
Early pregnancy stomach pain is a common symptom of early pregnancy for many pregnant women.
It can occur at any time throughout your first trimester and may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
The symptoms are often worse in the evening or at night. The pain can be mild and intermittent, or severe and constant. The intensity of your cramping may also vary throughout the day.
Some women find they have more pain during certain hours of the day. For instance, when theyre doing something strenuous or when theyre lying down.
In some cases, you may experience cramping that is similar to menstrual cramps or phantom pains. The symptoms typically subside after the first trimester but may persist for several months after your baby is born.
Causes Of Stomach Pain During Pregnancy
In addition to round ligament pain and cramps, other conditions may cause stomach pain during your pregnancy. Many women who are pregnant can experience:
Any of these conditions can cause sharp stomach pain. In addition, women may experience completely unrelated issues. For example, kidney stones occur as frequently in pregnant women as in women who are not.
While plenty of stomach pains are normal during pregnancy, if the pain is sharp and sudden, call a doctor. Sharp stomach pain is also one of the primary symptoms for the following serious pregnancy complications:
Ectopic pregnancy
In an ectopic pregnancy, the egg implants outside of the uterus, most often in the fallopian tubes. Ectopic pregnancies are not viable. If they are not caught in time, the eggs may cause the fallopian tubes to rupture, which can cause severe abdominal pain. A ruptured fallopian tube is a life-threatening emergency and requires immediate medical treatment.
Early pregnancy loss
Also known as a miscarriage or spontaneous abortion, early pregnancy loss can occur during the first trimester. The fetus may be damaged, have an abnormal number of chromosomes, or fail to develop correctly. Early pregnancy loss affects about one in ten pregnancies.
Preeclampsia
- A change in vaginal discharge
- Severe pain that makes it difficult to walk, speak, or breathe
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How To Tell If You’re Pregnant Right Away
The only way to tell if youre pregnant right away is by taking a home pregnancy test according to its instructions. Waiting can be difficult, but you can usually take a test three to four days before a missed period though youre more likely to get a false negative if you test too soon. If its negative, wait a couple more days and test again if Aunt Flo doesnt come to visit.
Be sure to test first thing in the morning, when your urine and the hormone that the test is measuring are most concentrated. If you see a line indicating a pregnancy, youre almost certainly pregnant . Pregnancy tests with false positives are rare.
Alternative Ways To Check For Pregnancy
If you dont want to buy a test yet, there are other ways you can find out whether its likely youre pregnant or not. But keep in mind that this is in no way accurate, and pregnancy tests are the best way to confirm your pregnancy.
All of the symptoms listed above can be early signs of pregnancy, but dont always mean that you are. If youre experiencing several of them at once, it could be a sign that its time to take a test.
Clearblue has a free online quiz which asks you about any symptoms, as well as what contraceptives youve been using, if applicable. It takes minutes and they can give you advice on whether or not to use one of their tests.
You also know your own body better than anyone, so you might identify significant changes to your mood, physical changes to your body especially around the stomach. If you have regular periods, any changes to that routine could indicate youre expecting too.
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When Will You Experience Pregnancy Symptoms
One factor to consider is the fact that many of the earliest signs of pregnancy are the same symptoms you might have right before your period.
With that in mind, you probably won’t experience significant symptoms before your missed period. Most classic pregnancy symptoms dont start until one or two weeks after conception at the very earliest. Many women dont notice anything until one or two weeks after their missed period .