Abdominal or tummy pain is common during pregnancy. In the first trimester (weeks 0 to 12) it is common to feel mild pains in the lower tummy area. These are caused by hormonal changes and by your growing womb.
How does a pregnant belly feel in early pregnancy? For most of your first trimester, you may not feel much, if any, difference in your belly. It will probably be soft and look a little bigger – similar to when you get bloated during your period or after you've eaten a large meal.
Upper stomach pain pain during pregnancy can be a normal part of the process as your body changes to accommodate your growing baby. While there are many harmless causes of this abdominal pain, some may be more serious.
Lower abdominal pain is normal during pregnancy and is most common between 18 and 24 weeks. Your growing uterus is pulling and straining the muscles that support it. You may feel sharp pains or just a mild pulling sensation. It often occurs when you cough, sneeze, stand up, sit down, roll over, or during sex.
Some women may begin noticing the first early signs of pregnancy a week or two after conception, while others will start to feel symptoms closer to four or five weeks after conception. Some women may not feel symptoms until their period is noticeably late, or even farther into pregnancy.
When Does Implantation Cramping Occur? Not everyone experiences implantation cramping. If you do notice it, the cramping usually happens anywhere from 3 to 10 days after ovulation—about two to nine days before your regular period is scheduled to arrive.
Implantation cramping may be an early sign of pregnancy. Understanding the causes and key differences between implantation cramps and period cramps will help people to recognize them. Implantation cramping is a type of pain sometimes experienced when a fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of the uterus.
You may feel brief lower abdomen pain. This is known as Mittelschmerz, a slight, one-sided ache or twinge in the pelvis caused by the release of the egg during ovulation. At two weeks pregnant, your belly won't show any signs of a bump yet, although you may feel a little more gassy or bloated than usual.
The core difference between PMS vs. pregnancy cramps is that the cramps during early pregnancy are not as severe as in PMS and also occur lower in the abdomen. Some women also report early pregnancy cramps in the lower back.
Mild stomach pain in early pregnancy (during the first 12 weeks) is usually caused by your womb expanding, the ligaments stretching as your bump grows, hormones constipation or trapped wind. It may sometimes feel like a 'stitch' or mild period pain.
There's only one way to find out for sure if you're pregnant: take a pregnancy test. But it's normal to wonder if you need a test or not.
Stretching of the uterus
Symptoms of your uterus stretching may include twinges, aches, or mild discomfort in your uterine or lower abdominal region. This is a normal part of pregnancy and a sign that everything is progressing normally. Watch for spotting or painful cramping.
Week 1 pregnant belly
There won't really be a baby bump during the first week of your pregnancy, or really, for the next few weeks. Since you'll be menstruating during this week, it is possible that hormonal changes might make you feel a bit bloated due to fluid retention.
Early pregnancy discharge
But most pregnant women will secrete sticky, white, or pale-yellow mucus early on in the first trimester and throughout their pregnancy. Increased hormones and vaginal blood flow cause the discharge. It increases during pregnancy to prevent infections as your cervix and vaginal walls soften.
Most women experience implantation cramps in their lower abdomen or lower back. On occasion these cramps will be isolated to one side of the body and be felt within the lower right or lower left side of your abdomen.
The sensation is different from person to person, but in most cases, they feel like mild cramps, usually dull and aching, or light twinges. Some people also describe feeling a prickling, tingling, or pulling sensation. The sensations may come and go or last for one to two days before disappearing.
The good news is, in most cases, implantation cramps are mild and resolve on their own within one to three days. It's rare that you would need to be worried, but if your cramping is severe, lasts longer than expected, or is accompanied by other troublesome symptoms (i.e., bleeding), make sure to speak with your doctor.
“Early on in your pregnancy, it's natural to feel some mild cramping in your lower abdomen at infrequent times as your body prepares for your growing baby,” Dr. Nalla said. As your belly grows, so does your uterus. This may cause you to feel some slight pulling, tugging or stretching similar to menstrual cramps.
“There's a sensation that your period is coming.” So how long do implantation cramps last? Again, it varies, but usually you can expect that the cramping will last one to two days before wrapping up, Ruiz says.
Many people experience what seem to be pregnancy symptoms shortly before their period arrives. This happens because the hormone progesterone rises both during early pregnancy and in the premenstrual period. 1 In short, PMS symptoms and early pregnancy symptoms can sometimes be exactly the same.
It is possible to know you're pregnant in those first few weeks—some women even “know” from the moment of conception. Here are the very earliest signs of being pregnant, that you might not notice.
Take a home pregnancy test
The cheapest, easiest, most accessible way to confirm you're pregnant is with a home pregnancy test. This form of testing can identify a positive pregnancy result as early as two weeks after fertilization, making it one of the fastest ways to learn more about your situation.
Implantation bleeding isn't heavy; it's more like a discharge or light spotting that's about a few drops of blood on your underwear. The color of the spotting. The blood from implantation is more of a pinkish or brown color, rather than a bright red some women normally see during a period.