Side pain very early pregnancy

[ArialAnna]

Just confirmed by a pregnancy test that I'm pregnant (yey!) but I'm a little concerned that I'm getting a frequent but mild ache on my left side close to my pelvic bone on and off for the last day and a half. If the pain wasn't one sided I wouldnt be worrying, but getting a little paranoid that it could be a ectopic pregnancy. Is pain on one side normal? Fyi I'm 32 years, about three weeks pregnant, and this is my first pregnancy (so no clue what's normal!)

I'm not sure about ectopic pregnancy, but i see no-one's replied yet. So in the meantime i can tell you that you can get a surprising amount of period-pain-type niggly soreness in very early pregnancy. Things start to stretch really quickly! See how it goes, and ring docs if you're not sure. Oh, and congratulations!

I've seen very similar posts recently saying the same thing (including my own several weeks ago!) op. Could you have ov'd from that side? I say this because I had similar discomfort from the lhs - the side I ov'd from. It continued on and off for a couple more weeks before I contacted the early pregnancy unit to seek advice. They got me in for an early scan to rule out ectopic. Everything was in the right place and saw the heartbeat. Currently 12 weeks and going for my dating scan on Monday! The discomfort settled down as the weeks passed and now have nothing other than usual uterus stretching and mild dull cramps very occasionally. I think the ovary you ov'd from releases the pregnancy hormone once it's released the egg, so the pain could well be related to normal processes in early pregnancy.

Worth contacting your unit though if it continues so they can rule it out too. And just to provide reassurance, only around 1% of pregnancies are ectopic unless you've experienced one before, in which case risk is slightly higher. Also more likely in women who have has a cs previously or undergone fertility treatment. Good luck and congratulations - try not to worry!

Hi Arial

I just got my BFP yesterday and am having the same pain today on my right side, similar to ov pain but milder. I think that's the side I ov'd from this month, so I'm hoping it's just the corpus luteum hard at work pumping out progesterone and not an ectopic pregnancy. It sounds like we're not the only ones, so I'm going to try to relax about it unless it gets worse!

Thanks guys, that's reassured me a lot. Might try and get an early scan in a few weeks anyway if the pain remains, just to put my mind at rest. Do you just find an early pregnancy unit and contact them directly or do you need to be a referred by your GP? And is it the same process if I just sit tight and wait for the first regular scan? (Sorry, I'm totally clueless on how this works!)

I wouldn't sit tight and wait for the regular scan because that's a way off and on the remote chance it is ectopic it would be dangerous to wait until then. I hadn't yet had my booking appointment when I became a little concerned. I contacted my city's early pregnancy unit asking for advice as I hadn't yet been allocated a community midwife. They were brilliant - took me very seriously but were also very reassuring. They booked me in for an early scan within two days of contacting them.

Early in pregnancy it'll be an internal ultrasound so just be prepared for that and also if it's very early (prior to 6 or 7 weeks) you need to be prepared that you may not see a heartbeat purely because it's so early, so try not to worry. Each day and week that passes with no blood loss or other symptoms is a good sign. As hard as it sounds, try to relax - that really is the best thing for your baby. Also just listen to your body and don't push yourself too much physically or mentally.

I'm still getting the occasional twinge on the lhs (much less than before) and have just got used to it, along with the other strange pulls, stretches and twinges! It's probably just your body doing what it's supposed to do!

Please come back and tell us how you get on.

Thanks, the pain is the left is becoming less frequent and I've started getting random mild pain on my middle and right side, so hopefully its just normal twinges, but I've made a doctor's appointment on Monday to get her opinion