Should I go to hospital?!

[IVFBabyPea]

Hi, 22 weeks pregnant FTM here. I know I am over worrying about things in this pregnancy and have pretty much from the start as did IVF so baby is very much wanted and feels extra scary because we struggled to conceive her. Despite scans etc. all being perfect so far I can't help but worry over everything! This week I feel so heavy down there and feel like there's a lot of pressure in my pelvis/back and I just generally feel uncomfortable. I've also been getting shooting pains both in my vagina and bum (sorry TMI!) i've read about lightening crotch but most people seem to get this later. Is anyone else feeling uncomfortable, heavy, achy etc. at 22 weeks or am I going to go into early labour?! Should also say that I had my cervix measured at 16 weeks (again due to anxiety) and it was perfectly fine so have no real reason to think I will go into labour early! Please tell me aches and pains are normal and I don't need to go to the maternity unit asap!

I did go into hospital for reassurance for other things whenever i worried, but if you call maternity triage, they will give you a better answer. It is a pain to go in, but it is better than worry and hopefully it turn out to be nothing.

I don't remember having those pressures and pains at 22 weeks and I am in 32 weeks now, but my experience doesn't prove anything

(I am an anxious first time ivf mum too)

Thank you for the response @BeLemonQuoter I have called the maternity unit and they said unless I'm getting pains that follow a sequence, bleeding or loss of fluid then I don't need to go in. But I don't want to leave it to get to that stage! I feel like I constantly need a wee too like everything is squashed down there. Are you getting back or pelvis pain at 32 weeks? Or have you not experienced it at all?

Oh bless you. I found I was only ever able to enjoy my pregnancies in retrospect after a difficult journey to having my children.
I would call in your circumstances. It really doesn’t matter if they think you didn’t need to call. I found rather than saying I was worried when I called (they would tell me not to worry if I said that… and that didn’t stop me worrying at all!), I instead said I was looking for reassurance. They always told me they could reassure me. Sometimes that was on the phone and sometimes I went in for monitoring.

Hi lovely, I was exactly the same with anxiety in pregnancy and went in numerous times with exactly what you're describing from 17 weeks as I thought I was going to go into premature labour. I felt soooo much pressure and shooting pains which actually subsided a lot in the third trimester but I was convinced something must be wrong and the midwives got sick of seeing me so often lol but I ended up being induced and giving birth full term at 38+5! Here if you need to chat about anything and any symptoms you're worrying about as, you name it, I probably worried about it and went into triage for it! x

Thank you so much both @minnieot @AngryFierceClouds the anxiety is just horrible! I think I will call again and see what they say. I wouldn't say I'm in loads of pain or anything like that it's just uncomfortable, almost like I have a balloon blown up in my pelvis if that makes any sense?! pressure when I need a wee and back pain/twinges. Definitely worse if I've walked the dogs. But nothing constant it comes and goes. I am tempted to just go to triage and ask them to monitor me. When you go in for monitoring are there ways they can check you're not going into premature labour, check your cervix for example? Or do they just check baby is ok?

For extra reassurance, this is what I posted at 18 weeks "I called the maternity assessment centre last night as I've been feeling such pressure in my vagina and pelvis. They checked my cervix which is high but when they listened to his heartbeat, he's still super low down. The pressure is so uncomfortable and making me feel like I need a wee non-stop. Has anybody else had this and does anybody have any tips on getting him to move a little higher just to alleviate the discomfort?" in hindsight I wasn't carrying low, I was just in early pregnancy and my uterus was still sitting low hahaha but just to let you know that you're 100% not alone in the pressure feeling.

As for what they check, a lot of the time I found they just did a visual check of my cervix, but one time they took it a bit more seriously and did a swab which checks for a hormone which is released before labour which can indicate whether you're at risk of going into labour within two weeks xx

Also to mention, I did end up with PGP, the feeling you're getting could be the start of that! especially if it's worse after you walk the dogs xx

When I went in it was always for lack of movement (later on in pregnancy) as the placenta was at the front (is that anterior? I can’t remember!) and it was hard for me to feel any kicks. So they took my vitals and monitored baby moments for a period of time. As I never went in with similar symptoms to yours Im not sure what checks they would do.

Have you been checked for UTI recently?

I had this around the same time. Now 26 weeks and it's passed. If you're worried, you can always call triage. That's what I do if I'm worried. Just say hey I'm just wondering if this is considered normal as I'm quite worried lala 1 - they say it's normal don't worry or 2 - please come up so we can check. They absolutely won't mind if you call

Also , since 20 weeks I wake up 4x a night for a wee. Since 24 weeks the pressure is so much and baby's still sitting quite low if I don't go to the toilet as soon as I need to and baby moves near my bladder I pee myself a little! Panty liners have become a nightmare.
I've called for a number of reasons and this was my experience

1 - reduced movement .. they told me to come in straight away and put baby on the monitor for 30 mins. He was fine and I was sent home. (Your not enough weeks yet to go on the CTG monitor)
2 - watery discharge and 'leaking' ... again told me to come in asap, listened to baby with fetal Doppler , did a speculum and swabbed for infection and amniotic fluid, both were negative and sent home as just having watery discharge
3 - called as my BP was high (I have a home monitor) it was 155/95 and I had a horrific headache. Was told to take paracetamol, drink water and have a nap and didn't need to go in