Pain around belly button

[OhWhatAPalaver]

Im 33 weeks and towards the later half of the day my stomach seems to get tighter and tighter, which seems to start causing discomfort around my belly button (mostly just above and to the left) it's always quite hard around that area so I'm guessing it's baby's head or something but the main problem is that when I laugh, cough or sneeze or even just try to get off the damn couch it's incredibly painful. Like a really sharp pain as if there's no space for my stomach to contract or stretch or something. Has anyone else had this? Is there anything I can do to stop it happening? Currently lay on my back on the sofa as any other position is really uncomfortable, feels like only way to stop the tension in my belly! :/

I've had exactly this for about 7 weeks now. I'm currently 35 weeks and it got that bad that I went to the hospital last week to get it checked out. I've had braxton Hicks since 25 weeks and they said that above your belly button is a muscle that basically splits in half during pregnancy or something and because of where my baby is laying when I have a braxton Hicks she pushes against the muscle and it causes it to really hurt. It got that bad that you could physically see some redness around my belly button at times! I'm afraid they said to me there's nothing that can be done about it other than take pain relief when it comes. Hope that helps a little x

I was going to say similar. Rectus abdominus I think the muscle is called. It does separate in pregnancy. Mine was incredibly painful during my third pregnancy - it felt like tearing round each side of the middle of the bump. I need to work on closing the gap back up and subscribed to the MuTu system but haven't got round to doing it!

Splits in half?! No wonder it's so painful then. I've got my 34 week appointment on Mon so will ask midwife about it then. Looks like I will be trying to spend as much time as humanly possible lay on my back for the rest of pregnancy!

It's definitely not pleasant. I've found mine hurts more when I've been walking or moving around lots. Luckily I've started maternity now so I can chill a bit more. I also find baths help lots so I would recommend giving it a try.

Thanks HD, I have been having more baths lately, getting out of them is a struggle though...
Definitely does hurt more after being active, roll on mat leave!

Try a bump band - mine was really eased by physically yanking the muscles back together in effect. The trade off was I could only go about 20 minutes before needing to pee!

Thanks for the tip, I've been thinking about getting one of those, some have said they're not very comfortable though... Where did you get yours from?

I got this one from amazon

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01A90RYWM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I found it ok comfort wise, and the easing of the sharp muscle pains was definitely worth any slight discomfort from the band (slight rubbing) although like I said earlier, it didn't help with an already squeezed bladder and it also accentuated my heartburn. I tended to just wear it if I knew I would be active/walking for a while, then take it off when not. It was also definitely more comfortable over a thin layer of clothes - even just the bump material on over the bump jeans for example, or a thin vest top.

It did also make my bump look square, as if I had a lego head baby, which did attract some comments!

Thanks will have a look :)