19 weeks pregnant. Sharp pains in lower abdomen on my right side?

[ChloeLeighCorn]

Hi, does anyone have experience with sharp pains in their lower abdomen on the right side? It’s been constant for about 10 minutes.

I’m not bleeding or anything like that although I did have some spotting about 2 weeks ago which I didn’t get checked out as I found baby’s heartbeat on doppler. I can’t find heart beat at the moment but the doppler I have is borrowed off a friend and is low on battery and flashing at me to charge, so putting it down to that.

I’ve read that pain around this time would most likely be stretching and round ligament pain but didn’t really experience that in my first pregnancy so don’t really know how to tell the difference. Any advise on how to tell if pain is something to get checked or not. I have my 20 scan a week today but not sure if I’ll be able to wait that long.

Is the spotting something to worry about even though I found heartbeat okay. Whenever I checked it, it was between 130-160 bpm on the doppler. And it’s only been the last few days that the doppler has needed charging. I wasn’t worrying about it but now I’m having these pains it’s making me wonder if I should be worried.

Any experience/advise would be amazing thank you! X

[Gillyc1]

My daughter is 31 weeks pregnant and from about 15 weeks has had sharp pains in her lower abdomen so much so she actually thought she was in labour. They are all quiet normal in pregnancy with all the changes going off. However if you are worried, phone someone for advice because they are there to help and monitor you. Good luck xxxx

[Hidden]

You should never rely on a Doppler for reassurance - I know it’s hard at the moment as there is not much the medics do before 24 weeks but it is important not to rely on it, especially when you get past 24 weeks. I’m a 29 weeks pregnant and a GP with significant obstetric experience but I won’t use a Doppler- the counters on them are notorious for not giving an accurate heart rate.

There are lots of aches and pains in pregnancy but without anyone knowing your history and talking through it properly, no one can give you proper advice. If the pain is persistent or does not respond to paracetamol then give maternity triage a call. Don’t rely on the Doppler to tell you that all is fine. You also need to tell triage about your spotting if you are rhesus negative.

I am sure it will be fine but if you are concerned, you should speak to your midwife.

[ChloeLeighCorn]

The pains stoped after about 15 minutes and then I felt the odd twinge a couple of times through the evening. They weren’t particularly painful just sharp feeling if that makes sense. I couldn’t be sure but I think I may have felt the start of some movements during the night but not sure enough to say for definite. I’ve got a scan and midwife check up on the 1st so I’ll mention it then too. I’m considered high risk for a few different reasons so it might be best to check with my midwife to be sure before then. I forgot to mention that I had a c-section 18 months before and the pain is pretty much at the edge of my scar. Will the baby getting bigger irritate the scar? The scar is still quite painful in general anyway if I touch it or lift things/bend over. X

[Hidden]

I wouldn’t rely on a Doppler at all especially as they are trying to ban them as they aren’t reliable. I did have one but I never used it to confirm the baby was still ok. It was more of a bonding type thing as I had waited so long to be pregnant. Maybe you should just call your maternity triage service to put your mind at rest xx