Lightning crotch is a sharp, sudden pain throughout your vagina or pelvic region. It's not a sign of labor, and typically isn't an indicator of anything serious. Expecting mamas usually experience lightning crotch later in the third trimester, when baby is larger and has moved down into the pelvis.
“This may be due to 'lightening,' which is when the baby drops down from the abdomen. Some women feel lightening as pelvic pressure or even low back pain,” says Dr. Emery. “But keep in mind that some women don't experience this drop until they're in actual labor.”
Termed lightening crotch because it feels like a sudden shooting pain, this vaginal pain sometimes occurs due to pressure on nerves. As baby engages lower into the pelvis, they are likely to apply pressure to the cervix. While this can occur long before labor, sometimes it is a sign of early dilation.
At the end of the third trimester, the baby settles, or drops lower, into the mother's pelvis. This is known as dropping or lightening. Dropping is not a good predictor of when labor will begin. In first-time mothers, dropping usually occurs 2 to 4 weeks before delivery, but it can happen earlier.
This is known as dropping or lightening. Dropping is not a good predictor of when labor will begin. In first-time mothers, dropping usually occurs 2 to 4 weeks before delivery, but it can happen earlier. In women who have already had children, the baby may not drop until labor begins.
Lightning crotch pain is quick, sharp, and irregular, typically felt at the upper vagina/near the cervix — versus labor contractions, which are also painful, but more regularly spaced.
Even though lightning crotch pain happens late in the third trimester, it's not a sign of impending labor. However, some people might confuse intense lightning pain for contractions—especially if they're a first-time parent.
How Do You Feel 24 Hours Before Labor? Some of the most common things women experience when labor is 24 hours away are cramps and contractions. You might feel that your stomach is becoming tight and may experience discomfort in your lower back. Along with that, you might also experience cramps in your pelvic area.
Warning Signs of Premature Labor
Menstrual-like cramps felt in the lower abdomen that may come and go or be constant. Low dull backache felt below the waistline that may come and go or be constant. Pelvic pressure that feels like your baby is pushing down. This pressure comes and goes.
Check for dilation.
Try to insert the tips of your fingers into your cervix. If one fingertip fits through your cervix, you're considered one centimeter dilated. If two fit, you're two centimeters dilated. If there's additional space in the opening, try to estimate how many fingertips would fit to determine dilation.
The lightning phenomenon is based on electrostatic induction. It happens when there are clouds in the sky.
At the end of the third trimester, the baby settles, or drops lower, into the mother's pelvis. This is known as dropping or lightening.
Braxton Hicks contractions feel like random period cramps—a sudden tightening or hardening in your belly. The sensation is usually more uncomfortable than painful. Braxton Hicks doesn't get more intense than actual labor pains over time.
Baby dropping may feel like a sudden, noticeable movement for some women, while others may not feel it happening. Baby dropping, or lightening, may make it easier to breathe and increase appetite. This is because there is more space in the abdomen and less pressure on organs.
Feeling the baby has dropped lower (lightening)
Lightening is the term used to describe when the baby's head settles deep into your pelvis. This might cause a change in the shape of your abdomen. This change can happen anywhere from a few weeks to a few hours before labor begins.
When your baby drops, you may feel it all at once, as a noticeable downward movement. Or you may not even notice. You're likely to feel "lighter," though, now that there's more space and your baby is no longer pressing on your diaphragm.
Your doctor will check your baby's engagement. Most use ultrasounds or physical exams to determine how far your baby has dropped into your pelvis. In the physical exam, doctors check your stomach, pelvis, and abdomen to feel for your baby's head compared to your pelvic bone.
In first time mothers it usually means labour is 2-4 weeks away. For women who've already had children, the baby may not 'drop' until labour begins. It can even vary for the same woman with different pregnancies too.
Many of these symptoms are due to increased levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which boost blood flow throughout your body to support your baby — including to your labia. As a result, your labia and vagina may experience the following changes: Swelling.