Model Marriage
- Lower Abdominal Pain
This is a normal complaint in pregnancy due to the increasing weight and positioning of the
baby. The lower abdominal muscles and pelvic bones bear a lot of weight and the strain then
causes lower abdominal pain (LAP).
Lower abdominal pain at the onset of pregnancy (around the 5th to 10th week) could also be
a result of ectopic pregnancy which may be bleeding, or an intrauterine pregnancy which is
attempting to abort.
Infections could also cause LAP. An immediate visit to the hospital is strongly advised.
Towards the end of pregnancy, lower abdominal pain could also signify among other things
early labour or the onset of bleeding when the placenta is low-lying. Immediate medical attention
must be sought.^1
Notes- Stanley G. Clayton, T. L. T. Lewis and A. G. O. Pinker. ed., Obstetrics by Ten
Teachers(London: Edward Arnold Publishing, 1986), 51 - 53; Margaret F. Myles, Textbook for
Midwives(Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1985), 153 - 157; Christopher L. H. Huang and
Voctor G. Daniels, Companion to Obstetrics(Lancaster: MTP Press Ltd., 1962), 57; T. L.T. Lewis
and G. V. P. Chamberlain, Obstetrics by Ten Teachers (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1990),
44 - 46; Garrey, Govan, Hodge and Callander, Obstetrics Illustrated( Edinburgh: Churchill and
Livingstone, 1980), 97 - 98.