Searing Round Ligament Pain Almost Sidelined Me for the Last Two Months of My Pregnancy

Holy Pain Batman!

There are so many things about pregnancy, child birth, and postpartum that we just don’t talk about. I think that’s one of the reasons so many moms find the book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” So traumatic. It’s the first time we hear about any of this and we’re already carrying a baby at this point. From round ligament pain to lighting crotch, so much was new to me. Have fun googling that one.

I have quite a large family, on both sides. So I thought I was a bit more prepared for this whole motherhood experience. How laughable that idea is now. I’ve learned so much and I’m still learning. I literally blog about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for my day job so I’m learning things now that could have helped me in the early days of my son’s life.

What in God’s Green Earth is Round Ligament Pain?

Round ligaments are located on the underside of your pregnant belly. They help hold everything together as your body expands to make room for your baby. As they stretch, women tend to feel pain. It’s often referred to as a “growing pain”.

Many women experience this light pain starting as early at 14 weeks. And it’s mild to the point where it doesn’t totally interfere with your day. That was not the case for me.

My Experience

I felt something else entirely. I had a bit of soreness in this area, but then one day I took my 90lb Labrador Murphy for a walk in the park. Murphy has never taken to a leash well. It’s a problem with consistency I guess. He’s allowed to run off leash more than we’ve ever had him on it. So he pulled against me for the better part of a mile.

When I got home, I ate a quick lunch and then got up to get a shower. The round ligament pain was so bad, that I had to crawl to the tub for the shower. I have a pretty high pain threshold too.

Typically if you have round ligament pain this bad, you should call your doctor. But I’m notorious for not asking for help and I had an appointment scheduled the very next day. So I took a hot shower and relaxed in the tub, took some pregnancy safe pain medication and took it easy for the rest of the day.

I seriously thought I had pulled something. When I got to my appointment she said my pain sounded bad, but was sure it was round ligament pain and not something more serious. She ended up being right.

How I Dealt With Round Ligament Pain

First things first, I found the Belly Bandit that I had purchased and started using it all of the time. It was so helpful. I also scaled back activity as if it was a pulled muscle. I spent the evenings on the couch in front of the fire and after a few days the pain became manageable and we were able to start walking and doing light activity again. I was this close to just laying in bed until he made his arrival.

I also used doTerra’s Deep Blue. Normally I buy my essential oils from Simply Earth. They’re super affordable, high quality, and the company gives back. But I had tested out doTerra’s products before and still have some of the tube of Deep Blue left over. It’l like BioFreeze if you’ve ever seen a PT.

Eight Sheep Organics makes an incredible pain relieving cream that also addresses restless legs, and insomnia in pregnancy. I used this stuff all of the time. It’s all natural, safe for pregnant women, and it works. Here’s a link to my review and links to order it for yourself.

Warm showers were a favorite of mine throughout my pregnancy but I took them more frequently with the round ligament pain. In fact, I’d actually lay down in my tub as if I was taking a bath and just let the warm water (not scalding hot for safety), hit my belly.

The benefit of it being winter was that I could snuggle up with the dog in bed or on the couch and get my work done remotely and not feel terribly guilty about it. Ski season had crapped out by this point so I lucked out that way too. You can read my post here about skiing while pregnant.