What are the reasons why your belly becomes hard and tight during pregnancy?

A hard and tight belly during pregnancy is a symptom that many pregnant women have experienced, but it is not a normal phenomenon. It means that the pregnant woman may be going into premature labor, may be infected, may have false labor in the late pregnancy, or may be because labor pains are approaching. However, no matter what the cause is, corresponding countermeasures need to be taken. Next, I will introduce to you the reasons and coping methods of pregnant women’s hard and tight belly.

1. Premature Birth

This refers to birth before the full 37th week of pregnancy. Pregnant women generally experience uterine contractions, which manifest as tightness, hardness, and abdominal pain in the lower abdomen. If there are 2 to 3 uterine contractions every 10 minutes, lasting more than 30 seconds, or accompanied by bloody vaginal discharge, it is a threat of premature labor and you need to go to the hospital for examination and observation. If the cervix dilates progressively during the observation process and the cervix is ​​dilated to more than 2 cm, premature birth will be inevitable.

2. Infection

The causes of premature birth are often infections, including genital tract infections and amnionitis. However, urinary tract infection and intestinal infection can also induce the above symptoms. In addition, some pregnant women may experience tightness, hardness, and pain in the lower abdomen when the fetus moves frequently in the abdomen. The way to prevent this symptom is to rest in the left side lying position, which can increase the blood flow to the uterus and placenta, prevent or reduce spontaneous uterine contractions, refrain from sexual intercourse in the late pregnancy, prevent urinary tract infection, and smokers need to quit smoking.

3. False labor in late pregnancy

These are irregular, weak, painless uterine contractions that occur during pregnancy. Its characteristic is that it often appears frequently at night and disappears the next morning. This is different from the labor pains in late pregnancy, which are characterized by short, regular, and gradual abdominal pain. Most pregnant women may not feel any discomfort, but some pregnant women who are sensitive to pain may mistake normal uterine contractions for labor contractions. It is estimated that about 1/3 of the so-called threatened premature labor cases are not real labor, but false labor.

4. Labor pains are coming

If you feel regular hardening of your abdomen near delivery (within 3 weeks before the due date, i.e. entering full-term pregnancy), and this happens repeatedly, it probably means that real labor (delivery) is approaching.