Tummy getting harder?

Question

hi

im 31 weeks and 5 days preggers. past couple of days my stomach gets really hard. no cramping..just hard. i used to have alot of back aches but now strangley i dnt get anymore back aches. i havent got one in a good week. but instead my knees have been hurting me and i have some sharp stabbing pain in my v****a/cervix area and alot of pressure on my bladder.tmi sorry. what could it be? also i checked with my doc last week all she said was nothing to worry about. but i would of appreciated a more through answer from her. i go in and im out in 5 min. its crazy. anyway thanks

Answer 1

My sister has been having the hard stomach and vaginal cramps for weeks now.

Everyone above me is right. It's Braxton Hicks or false labor. Occasionally, it's painful and feels like labor but it's not. It's just the body preparing for real labor.

The vaginal cramps are the same thing. The baby could be dropping in preparation for birth. My niece dropped two weeks ago and my sister's stomach looked like an oval. The baby has shifted again even though she is still low and she looks like she swallowed a basketball now, the usual look for how far along she is.

Like another poster said, make a list of things and even write down when and where you feel hardness and contractions/cramps and talk to your doctor about them at your next appointment. You should NOT be rushed out of the room. The doctor is there for your safety and if you have a dozen questions to find that safety, so be it.

If you start to bleed or leak or they get extremely painful and don't stop, you need to go to the hospital.

Otherwise, it's just another part of the process of the body getting ready for the birth.

Congratulations!  

Answer 2

Your stomach getting hard is probably braxton hicks contractions.  I also had the sharp pain that felt like it was my cervix, and my doctor said it could be the baby pushing on the cervix or it could be that the cervix is starting to thin out.  The pressure on your bladder is just the baby getting bigger and pushing on it.

Answer 3

Your tummy gets hard for a minute or two and then goes away?  If so, that's braxton hicks constractions.

Your knees are probably hurting from the extra weight.  Try to find exercises to take pressure off them.  Pressure down low is probably totally normal at this stage.  The baby is bigger.

At your next appt, make a list of questions and take them with you.

Answer 4

It could be Braxton-Hicks contractions. My sister got these frequently, her stomach would get really hard - but without pain for about 6-8 weeks before she gave birth. It's probably just your body preparing itself for labor later on.

Make sure you are drinking enough fluids.