What should I do if I have pelvic pain?
For women, pelvic pain is common. If your pelvic pain is severe or doesn’t go away after trying over-the-counter painkillers, then you should see a practitioner at Susquehanna OB/GYN Nurse and Midwifery to determine the cause.
What could be causing pelvic pain if I’m pregnant?
Pelvic pain can be a sign of a severe complication during pregnancy, indicating:
Miscarriage
Symptoms include vaginal bleeding and lower abdominal or pelvic cramps. You may pass some tissue from the vagina, which often looks like a blood clot.
Ectopic Pregnancy
This type of pregnancy attempts to develop outside the uterus. Symptoms include pain on one side of the lower abdomen or pelvis. It may develop sharply, or slowly become worse over several days and become severe, possibly accompanied by vaginal bleeding.
Rupture of Corpus Luteum Cyst
A corpus luteum makes hormones that help keep you pregnant until other organs such as the placenta take over. Sometimes it can become too swollen and burst, causing sharp pain on one side of your pelvis.
Placental Abruption
Rarely, the placenta detaches from the wall of the uterus. If this happens after 24 weeks, it is called an abruption. This abruption is an emergency because the baby relies on the placenta for food and oxygen, and usually results in an emergency C-section.
What could be causing pelvic pain if I’m not pregnant?
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
An infection of the womb caused by a bacterial infection that travels from your vagina or cervix, often caused by chlamydia or gonorrhea. Symptoms include pain in the lower abdomen or pelvis, high temperature, vaginal bleeding, and discharge.
Ovarian Cyst Rupture
A sac filled with fluid that develops inside the ovary. In most cases, these cysts are non-cancerous and cause no symptoms, but can cause pain if they burst or twist.
Endometriosis
A condition most commonly diagnosed in women in their thirties, which causes pain around the time of your period. It may also cause pain when you have sex.
Cystitis
This urine infection in the bladder is often treated with a short course of antibiotics. If there is no sign of contamination after the urine test, you may have Interstitial cystitis, also called “painful bladder syndrome” where the walls of the bladder are inflamed and cause pain.
You should not ignore pelvic pain. If pain persists or grows, call or make an appointment online at Susquehanna OB/GYN Nurse and Midwifery for a diagnosis as soon as possible.
