so
one of the things I get asked frequently during pregnancy is if it's normal to
have vaginal pain during the pregnancy it's extremely common to have vaginal
pain in pregnancy but there are several things that you should think about when
you're experiencing this and there are things that you should know to tell
your OB so the things that we consider when I hear vaginal pain are what is the
type of pain how long have they had it and does anything make it better or worse
the reason we ask those questions is to figure out if it's a
pain that is normal and is just a complication of the fetus developing during
pregnancy or if it's something that could be a sign of a problem with the
pregnancy one of the first questions that your OB will ask is what does
the pain feel like one of the most common symptoms of
vaginal pain particularly in the third trimester is a very sharp shooting pain
down into the vaginal area from the upper abdomen that is a very normal type of
pain it's usually without prompt it's usually goes away quickly and
doesn't leave any lasting pain symptoms with it that's most likely a nerve pain
related to pressure from the fetal head or whatever the fetal presenting part is
on the pelvic nerves as you get further and further in pregnancy
those pains become more common because the baby's head is a
lot larger and it tends to put more pressure on those nerves with everyday
movement and normal activities we don't worry.
about that pain as long as it
comes and goes there's also pain that can be symptoms of early
labor or labor that's on time that type of vaginal pain will more often be a
cramping type of pain like a menstrual cramp or sometimes more intense radiating
to the back or the low back that type of pain that tends to come and go in waves
is more concerning for a contraction if you're full-term
meaning past 37 weeks or even close to full term your obstetrician may not be
concerned about that because it just may be early labor especially if it's not
consistent if your preterm meaning before 37 weeks that symptom
can be more concerning particularly if you're very preterm and your body
shouldn't really be having regular contractions so if you're experiencing waves
of pain that feel more like a menstrual cramp that can radiate down into
the vaginal area that would be something to let your
obstetrician know regard of where you are in the pregnancy
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