Did Anyone Have BAD Round Ligament Pain?

I'm 5 months right now, and I am also experiencing round ligament pain. I hate it, last week it was all in my lower left side, now it is on my right lower side. All pregnancies are different and I don't remember it to be this way on my other 2 pregnancies (this is my 3rd child), but I know that rlp(s) are very common so I'm not so concerned.

Good Luck :-)
M.
Mommy Blog: http://wantsugar.blogspot.com

Good morning J.. I had very bad round ligament pain when I was pregnant with our second child. I strained the groin area when I was trying to carry to much - laptop, work bag and our 18 month old daughter at the time. The two things that helped me immensely were the lap belts. I bought mine at Motherhood and it was a life saver - I wore it all the time and it was wonderful. The other thing was weekly professional back massages that ended up being covered by my insurance. One final thought is what kind of shoes you are wearing. It sounds strange but you do not realize how you body displaces itself to accomodate the extra weight a baby brings. This pain definitely goes away but it is frustrating while it is occuring. Don't think this is something you have to suffer with - there are ways around it.

When I had my first child I used to get bad RLP as well. My doctor recommended me taking excedrin and lay down, which did seem to help. I never had the pain last as long as your has. My doctor told me that if it did not subside within 24 hours to come in. If your RLP is has lasted a week I would make a doctors appointment. Your doctor maybe dismissing your pain as RLP when it could be contractions that are concentrated in one area of your side. Hope this helps!

K.

J.,
This is not normal. You could at least be referred to physical therapy or a chiropractor to get some relief from your pain. I have a great ortho dr. who probably will figure out your problem in about 30 seconds. No kidding. His name is Mitchell Goldflies. He is on Devon and Central. He works with PT and a chiropractor. ###-###-####. He has helped me through both of my pregnancies.
Amy

I had it when I was pregnant with my son and I couldn't stand it..... I couldn't lay on my sides, I could barely walk and it hurt really bad..... My husband would have to stand in a hot shower with me to try and ease some of the pain or had to use a heating pad to ease it..... The dr. office also told me that I could buy I think it was a pregnancy belt to help and try to ease some of the pain, but it didn't work either..... So it's common in some women to have RLP....... Good luck
V. K.

Make sure you see your doc to confirm it is round ligament pain. I assumed mine was and I had lower ab/ pelvic pain when I walked briskly, got in/out of the car, and got in/out of bed. It turns out I had a separated pubic bone from the baby's position. Physical therapy and exercises helped A LOT. And ICE was recommended, not heat. so let your doc check you. that's their job

I had it for awhile, but mine was tolerable. However, I'm concerned that your doctor recommended heat therapy for it. I was told that using heating pads is a big no-no during pregnancy because of the risk of blood clots. I had a back injury right before I was pregnant and continued therapy during early pregnancy. My doctor and physical therapist said ice therapy was okay, but no heating pads.

J.,
Congrats on your pregnancy. Yes, its normal and nope, there is hardly anything you can do about it. One thing that helped a little bit is sitting on a birthing ball. My pain shot down lower and sitting right on the pain often helped. Some friends of mine suggested a heating pad along your groin.

Just know that its just your body preparing itself for birth and letting everything stretch and grow along with that sweet baby of yours. I am 9 months pregnant (and literally WAITING to go into labor!!) and can assure you that it DOES go away (and other fun things come), but it does get better.

Best of luck!!
B.

HI, I had that:) find a wool and very large scarf and wrap around your waist and abdominal. don't take it off while you ae sleeping,and also wear socks. No more cold ice water or soda:)

Jen:
Round ligament pain is a "pain" to deal with. This may go away on its own as baby moves into a different position. Basically your uterus is tipped forward and the baby's weight pulling makes it hurt. There is a belt (harness type sling) that you can buy which lifts your uterus up slightly and tilts it inward which relieves the pain. I have seen it advertised in Lamaze magazines in the past. Look in Parent's and Parenting Magazine also. Years ago, the Motherwear (maternity) clothing stores used to carry them, don't know if they still do. You can try the online catalog of Motherwear Nursing clothing which sells mostly nursing clothes, but they might have it. Also there is a website called Earth Mama Angel Baby which sells all types of supplies, they might carry it. If you can't find it, try using a light support girdle to lift you a little.
Don't know if that will get it in the right direction tho. Also, when sleeping or lying on your side, make sure you put a pillow under your tummy to prevent strain. Stay off your feet as much as possible. Doing the pelvic rock exercise will encourage baby to move to a different position and that might give some relief. Good luck.
K.

Hi J.!

I am very familiar with that pain. I got it around 34 weeks. It was AWFUL!! At times, I couldn't walk either. It hurt to sit, stand, lie down, etc...I thought to myself too that I couldn't go through the next 6 weeks like this either. I called the doctor at the emergency room when it started and they told me that it is normal for some women to experience and that it could last for the remainder of the pregnancy. I wanted to cry because the pain was excruciating! They mentioned that sometimes the position of the baby can cause that pain. I think that is was in my case. The pain lasted for a total of a week or so. The extreme pain part lasted only for a few days but it felt like months!

I did Sitz baths with the aid of my husband because I couldn't get in and out of the tub by myself. I did prenatal yoga stretches which helped alot! And I prayed for God to help this pain subside. I also didn't move around a whole lot either.

I hope that helps. Hopefully, Your pain will go away soon too! Take care and best wishes to you and your baby!

My wife has it. She said wait it out and try to get to your left side. She gets it a lot.

-K.

J., I had severe pain that sounds like what you are describing as well. It started about the 6th/7th month too. Mine was on the right side and they thought at first I was having appendicitis. I never got a real diagnosis though the doctors think it was either RLP or a nerve that got "jangled". It is very frustrating to have such pain and not know what is causing it. Mine was so severe the first time I got it that I started having regular contractions. They gave me 2 types of medicine to finally get them to stop. It hurt to even pee. They gave me morphine and it didn't even stop the pain. So I guess you are writing not to hear my bellyaching but to see if there is anything that can be done to help. After my first episode (which I spent 2 days in the hospital with) I only had 2 more severe episodes. Other than that it was constant but I could deal with it. Tylenol actually helped a little. So you could try that. I also used a heating pad but don't believe that really helped much. Mine hurt a lot getting up from a sitting position so I kept the heating pad on my lap at work. I know my email doesn't give you any great ideas as to how to make it go away but if you are like me you have searched the internet and are finding it a little hard to believe that you are having RLP because it shouldn't hurt so much. My OB didn't have any great sympathy or suggestions either. I don't think what you are experiencing is "normal" but I hope it helps to know that there are others out there who know what you are talking about. It helped me just to think about the beautiful baby I would be meeting soon. I actually got better at coping with the paid as my pregnancy went on. I hope that you have that experience too. I am so sorry you are having the pain, I know it can be so frustrating. Hang in there!

PS I just read the other responses and I tried a lapbelt. It didn't work for me but I think it is defintely worth a try. Also, with mine they suspected a ruptured ovarian cyst - someone suggested you should have the doc rule out a cyst. I think that is a great idea as well.

Hi J.,
You know, I had this with all my children when I was pregnant with them. It is common. It is from everything stretching out. I agree about using a heating pad on the area. Another thing that we use with clients is rice socks. If you dont know what they are, all you do is get a long tube sock, fill it with rice and tie or sew the open end shut. Then, you can either use it hot or cold. Just put it in the freezer or put it in the microwave for about 2 minutes. I would test your microwave out first though, because everyone is different. If it is to hot, wrap it in a towel like we do with our clients. It is easier then a heating pad, because you can just go and get it and get it ready and then sleep with it even if you need to. It should last about 30-45 minutes before you need to heat it up again.

i hope this helps!

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

I totally have it right now!!! Ugh. So painful. How did we not hear about this before???

I had same w/ my first, and right at same time too (6 mos). It wasn't ongoing as yours sounds. The rolling over w/ RLP is normal, takes breath away w/ sharpness. First time it happened dr. said just take it easy w/ everything. I also did some gentle yoga and side twists. Seemed to help, but i did feel on/off sharp pains throughout. It would seem you could keep a small diary of when they happen and what you are doing, and if they happen w/o any movement, you should go to dr. Othewise, enjoy one of the many symptoms of pregnancy :)

It does sound like RLP. I had it pretty badly with my first child. I eventually got one of those pregnancy support belts. You can buy them at Babies R Us and probably other places. The one I had was given to me by my midwife and I think was more of a surgical belt. I wore it when I was doing a lot of moving and it worked pretty well.

The other thing is that there is always the chance it could be something else. One thing is a cyst on your ovary. They are usually harmless, but painful. I think your doctor owes it to you to check it out rather than write you off. Definitely bring up an ultrasound or something at your next appointment just to rule out anything else.

Also, the baby's position can influence your pain. I found when my baby was transverse (laying side to side) I had worse pain. Ask your doctor to tell you the position of the baby. There are exercises you can do (www.spinningbabies.com) and usually a chiropractor can help get baby into position and get rid of the pain. Many people I know see chiropractors in pregnancy for round ligament pain. Good luck!