The WORST stomach pain

[SleepForTheWeak]

I actually thought I was going into pre term labour today (I'm 27 weeks) because the stomach cramps I was getting were that bad. In fact, the pain was worse than I can remember being in when in labour with DD.

I was almost 100% sure it was a tummy upset as DD has one and was having really bad nappies, but OMG the cramps were coming at regular intervals and bringing tears to my eyes every time. The worst of it was I was driving at the time (a 5 hour journey that ended up being 8 hours) but luckily there was someone in the car to take over.

I eventually went to the toilet and things have settled down - but is that normal?? I very rarely get stomach bugs and I thought I had a high pain threshold so this really worried me

Where was the pain? During this preg I have had (maybe 10 times from weeks 6 to 26) awful strong stomach aches. They seem to be related to constipation and gas. Milk of magnesia helped a lot. I'm now 35 weeks and haven't had one of those stomach pains in a while, hope they've gone!

They were really low down, below my bump. I have been on iron for about a week so had been a bit constipated, I'm thinking it was that which was causing such intense pains before I had loose bowel movements?

If there's a bug in your household, and the pain eased once you'd gone to the loo, I think you've got your answer, and don't need to worry.

Sounds bowel related

Are those pains normal for a stomach upset?

I had an operation on my bowel a few years ago so wondered if it was connected

Yes, that level of cramps can be normal for a stomach upset. It's also common to get quite bad pain if you've been constipated and then need to pass a stool.

Really, if you've not previously had any pain since your operation, and the pains stopped after you went to the loo, you're worrying more than you need to.