QuestionI am about 30 weeks pregnant. This morning I woke up with a strange feeling in my abdomen, almost as though I'd been punched. I always have low back pain, but the pain is now higher on the left and extends forward into my waist/side. The odd feeling in my stomach did not take long to turn into sever cramping. It is always uncomfortable but there may be twenty to thirty minutes where the cramping subsides. I do feel much more intense cramping and sharp pains when changing positions, putting pressure on the area and getting up or down. When I am cramping my normal very active baby does not move. After five hours of experiencing this I called my doctor. My doctor's office sent my into labor and delivery. They took a urine sample to check for a UTI which came back negative. The heartbeat and my blood pressure are fine. I am having regular bowel movements. They did a pelvic exam and found a bacteria infection which the hospital says is what's causing my cramping. I'm not too sure about this since the cramping is so severe and the baby stops moving during cramping. How can a bacteria infection cause this? I had an infection at the beginning of my pregnancy but was medicated for it, could this be due to the fact that it wasn't properly treated and thus I have a VERY severe infection? Do I need to go back to the hospital or doctor's office? Should I be worried, is this normal? I don't feel like these are contractions as the cramping can last a very long time (varying in severity). Thank you so much for your advice! Happy Holidays!
AnswerDear Melissa,
If you had a bacterial infection early on in the pregnancy and was treated for it then, more than likely that treatment was effective or you would have experienced symptoms of it prior to this point.
Infections can be more difficult to treat during pregnancy. Your vaginal pH changes and it is difficult for your body to keep up with the chemical changes in the vaginal environment. It sounds like your uterus is simply responding to the bacteria which are present. It is making the uterus more irritable and causing it to cramp a bit. When your uterus cramps that uterine muscle tightens, causing it to squeeze down a little and make the uterine environment smaller. This is likely why your baby is not as active when you are feeling the cramping.
I would suggest that you keep a log of when this happens - the beginning time and end time and whether you feel movement during it or not. At your next visit, show this to your doctor. He may want to do a non-stress test to make sure that there is no negative effect on fetal heart rate, but I doubt that there is if you are not actually contracting and have no fever associated with the infection.
Once the episode of cramping is done, make sure that you are feeling movement. Ideally, you want to make sure that you are feeling approximately at least 10 movements within 2 hours. If there is, you can rest easy that your baby is ok. But remember, a mother's instinct is a powerful thing. If you have a strong feeling that something is very wrong, don't ignore it.
I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well and a Merry Christmas!
Brenda
