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Feeling of heaviness in pregnancy: from what and where does it occur?
Last reviewed: 12.07.2025
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It should be borne in mind that the feeling of heaviness during pregnancy is mainly due to those inevitable physiological changes and shifts in general metabolism that occur in the body of women throughout the entire gestation period.
Causes pregnancy discomfort
According to obstetricians, such definitions as pathogenesis or symptoms of pregnancy severity are hardly appropriate when it comes to bearing a child - a natural process, an obligatory and integral part of which are certain transformations in the female body. It is more correct in this case to talk about the etiology of these changes and their signs.
However, there are certain risk factors for the development of truly pathological conditions, complications and diseases in pregnant women, which in ICD-10 are combined into class XV and coded O00-O99. And the first signs of some of these conditions can also manifest as a feeling of heaviness.
Regardless of the specific cause of heaviness during pregnancy, these sensations are a fairly abstract description of the perception of a feeling of bodily discomfort by the interoceptive analyzers of the visceral organs and tissues.
Symptoms
Doctors identify the key localization of the feeling of discomfort – heaviness in the abdomen during pregnancy.
This sensation in the lower abdominal region is considered one of the signs of early pregnancy, caused by increased synthesis of sex steroid hormones, in particular, estradiol and progesterone.
The action of these hormones creates the conditions necessary for bearing a fetus: the endometrium of the uterus thickens, the number of uterine glands increases, and the system of blood vessels becomes more branched - preparing the basis for the formation of blood circulation in the placenta and the functional mother-placenta-fetus system.
Heaviness in the uterus during pregnancy
As the term increases, the heaviness in the uterus during pregnancy increases, usually perceived as heaviness in the abdomen. And this is also a naturally occurring sensation, because both the size of the uterus and its weight increase many times during the entire pregnancy. The feeling of heaviness is aggravated by a large fetus or multiple pregnancy, as well as when the volume of amniotic fluid is more than one and a half liters, that is, polyhydramnios is detected in pregnant women in the late stages.
Unfortunately, heaviness in the uterus during pregnancy can also have a pathological cause - with the formation of fibrous nodes or an increase in an existing uterine myoma during pregnancy. In such cases, there may be pain and bloody discharge.
[ Heaviness in the navel during pregnancy
Pregnant women begin to feel discomfort in the umbilical region at the beginning of the second half of gestation. And the main reason is also associated with the enlargement of the uterus, the bottom of which first reaches the level of the navel (by the 20-22nd week) and continues to gradually rise even higher, reaching the diaphragm and the lower part of the chest by the 36th week. Obstetricians measure the height of the standing of the uterine fundus of pregnant women at each routine examination, and over the entire period it increases, on average, by 4.5 times.
Stomach heaviness during pregnancy
When discomfort in the epigastric region and an unpleasant feeling of fullness in the stomach are explained by a change in its position (due to pressure from the enlarged uterus), this only applies to later stages of pregnancy. But at the beginning of pregnancy, these sensations have an exclusively hormone-dependent etiology: estrogen and progesterone reduce not only the tone of the uterine muscles, but also the smooth muscle fibers of the stomach lining, thereby worsening its motility. More information in the material - Heaviness in the stomach during pregnancy
For the same reason (of course, if the expectant mother does not systematically overeat) heaviness appears after eating during pregnancy.
And everything that can be associated with heaviness in the stomach and belching during pregnancy is described in detail in the publication - Belching during pregnancy
Provided there is no nutritional error, that is, consumption of poor quality food, heaviness in the stomach and nausea during pregnancy are manifestations of toxicosis in the early stages of pregnancy, which is associated with high levels of estrogen and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in the blood of pregnant women.
Heaviness in the side during pregnancy
First of all, pregnant women feel heaviness in the side (often symmetrical), because the round and sacrouterine ligaments that stabilize the normal position of the uterus become thicker and longer, the fallopian tubes together with the peritoneal mesentery are displaced below their “pre-pregnancy” location, and the ovaries together with the infundibulopelvic ligaments and mesovarium (ovarian mesentery) end up in the abdominal cavity.
Due to compression by the rising bottom of the uterus and lateral displacement of the liver, gall bladder, duodenum and ileum, discomfort and heaviness in the right side during pregnancy appear. A similar situation with the pancreas, spleen and sigmoid colon provokes heaviness in the left side during pregnancy.
Heaviness in the intestines during pregnancy
Problems with the gastrointestinal tract and heaviness in the intestines during pregnancy are the result of the already mentioned inevitable physiological changes, which also cause constipation and bloating during early pregnancy, as well as during the second and even third trimesters.
Heaviness in the rectum during pregnancy
There are two reasons for the feeling of heaviness in the rectum during pregnancy. The first, physiological, is the strong stretching of the sacrouterine and rectouterine ligaments formed by the parietal peritoneum in the area of the posterior wall of the uterus.
The second reason is pathological, caused by blood stagnation, dilation of the veins of the rectum and the formation of nodes in them - hemorrhoids.
Chest heaviness during pregnancy
The growth of the uterus lifts the dome of the diaphragm (separating the abdominal and thoracic cavities), and the vertical size of the chest decreases. But its circumference, on the contrary, increases: due to the stretching of the synchodrosis of the xiphoid process of the sternum and an increase in the angle between the spine and the sternum, as well as a decrease in the curvature of the costal arches. At the same time, there can very often be unpleasant sensations and heaviness in the chest during pregnancy.
In addition, during pregnancy (up to about 32 weeks), the volume of blood pumped by the heart increases by 30-50%. This increases not only the heart rate (at rest up to 80-90 beats per minute) but also the actual size of the heart (by almost 12%). So, due to the increased load, discomfort in the chest area, heart murmurs, and heart rhythm disturbances may appear.
Back pain during pregnancy
It is absolutely natural to feel heaviness in the back during pregnancy, as well as complaints from almost all expectant mothers about heaviness in the lower back during pregnancy (in the second half of the term). The whole point is that due to the increase in the abdomen, the center of gravity of the body in pregnant women changes, and as compensation for its displacement, there is some backward deviation of the vertebrae of the lumbar spine with simultaneous overstrain of the muscles located here (spinous, intertransverse, multifidus, vertebral-costal).
Feeling heaviness in the lower back in the early stages of pregnancy, a woman should pay attention to the amount of fluid consumed in the evening, since the kidneys may not have time to remove its excess. But if pain appears in the lumbar region in the lower abdomen, this may be a harbinger of spontaneous termination of pregnancy.
Heaviness in the pelvis during pregnancy
What causes heaviness in the pelvis during pregnancy? In the third trimester of gestation, the production of the hormone relaxin is especially increased, which weakens the pelvic ligaments in the area of the pubic symphysis (pubic articulation). This is necessary so that the joints can move apart a little and not interfere with the passage of the baby's head during labor.
In some cases, the relaxation of the symphysis may be excessive, causing pain and requiring certain measures.
And the heaviness in the groin during pregnancy begins to be felt around the middle of the second trimester – due to the fact that the uterus increases in size and its round ligaments begin to stretch. In later stages, the weight of the child, added to the effects of relaxin, leads to stretching and weakening of the pelvic floor muscles (between the tailbone and pubis), which support the uterus, bladder, rectum and vagina.
But heaviness in the vagina during pregnancy occurs not only because of this. During this period, all the genital organs that provide the reproductive function of the female body are intensively supplied with blood, which can lead to swelling of their tissues. And the pressure of the uterus often leads to dilation of the venous vessels - varicose veins of the vagina during pregnancy, which in most women goes away after childbirth.
Heaviness in legs during pregnancy
The most common causes of heaviness in the legs during pregnancy are poor circulation in the lower extremities and swelling of the legs during pregnancy.
How does medicine explain this? The enlarged uterus presses down and slows down the upward flow of blood, that is, it prevents the return of blood from the legs and pelvic area to the heart, as a result of which the veins in the legs swell, and there is a feeling of heaviness when walking during pregnancy.
During pregnancy, blood volume increases by about half, and this additional volume also increases the pressure in the veins, which most women experience as heaviness in the legs in early pregnancy, especially if they have to stand for a long time.
Progesterone is also involved in this - relaxing the blood vessels to accommodate all the "extra" blood. That is why pregnant women have varicose veins, which cause heaviness in the calves of the legs during pregnancy, which goes away after childbirth.
And the appearance of swelling of the lower extremities is due to the hormones of the adrenal cortex, aldosterone and cortisol, which regulate water metabolism, the increased synthesis of which is stimulated again by progesterone from the placenta.
Heaviness in the head during pregnancy
Fluctuations in blood pressure cause both heaviness in the head during pregnancy and headaches.
In a normal pregnancy, blood pressure in the first trimester will remain approximately the same as before the pregnancy. In the middle of the term, obstetricians note a decrease in blood pressure indicators, which should return to normal in the last months.
If a woman had high blood pressure before pregnancy, then she will most likely have hypertension during gestation. And for doctors, this is a cause for concern, since high blood pressure in the second or third trimester and gestosis during pregnancy can limit the amount of oxygen supplied to the fetus, increasing the risk of premature placental abruption and preterm labor.
Diagnostics pregnancy discomfort
Obstetricians do not perform separate diagnostics of pregnancy severity, and all diagnostic procedures, including tests, instrumental examination (ultrasound), as well as consultations with specialists, etc. are included in the pregnancy management protocol.
All complaints of pregnant women are taken into account by an obstetrician-gynecologist, who gives appropriate recommendations - taking into account the condition of the pregnant woman, her medical history, gestational age and assessment of risks for the normal development of the fetus.
Treatment pregnancy discomfort
Since the feeling of heaviness during pregnancy - in the abdomen, stomach, back, legs, etc. - is a normal phenomenon for this condition, then, as such, its treatment is not carried out. But complaints about such sensations do not remain without the attention of doctors and their help.
It is possible to treat heaviness in the stomach (by using agents to reduce gas formation in the gastrointestinal tract).
The feeling of heaviness in the abdomen and uterus is reduced by wearing a special prenatal bandage.
How doctors recommend pregnant women to overcome heaviness in the intestines, read in the article - Flatulence during pregnancy
There are medications that help with toxicosis; they are described in detail in the publication - Pills for toxicosis during pregnancy
What to do in case of severe divergence of the pubic symphysis, find out from the article - Symphysitis during pregnancy.
The following materials contain relevant and useful information:
Complications and consequences
High blood pressure during pregnancy can have consequences and complications in the form of the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases later on.
The following may also have consequences and increase the likelihood of complications:
- Varicose veins of the vagina can lead to heavy bleeding during childbirth;
- varicose veins of the lower extremities create the preconditions for the formation of blood clots and the development of thrombophlebitis;
- gestosis and polyhydramnios cause intrauterine oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) of the fetus. In addition, preeclampsia develops with gestosis;
- Myoma in pregnant women is fraught with placental insufficiency and spontaneous abortion.