Third Trimester Aches and Pains

Here is a list of some of the symptoms you may experience during the third trimester of pregnancy before your baby arrives:

• Anemia. It can cause fatigue and/or prenatal depression. (Make sure your care provider checks your hemoglobin or hematocrit levels.)

• Swelling. You may experience it in your arms, ankles, and hands, and there may be pregnancy-related aches in your hands and wrists (which could be pregnancy-related carpal tunnel syndrome). If your face suddenly swells, contact your doctor or midwife.

• Back pain. Nagging back pain from your shoulders on down can be caused by the increasing weight of your breasts and baby. (Labor pain starts in the lower back, but contractions are cyclical, and pain usually moves around to the front each time.)

• Heartburn. Blame your hormones and the pressure of the baby on your stomach and intestines for that burning sensation in your throat.

• Waddling and lower-body pain. The pressure of your baby moving lower in your body and your changing hormones will cause joints and tendons to loosen leading to waddling and to hip, groin, and tailbone aches. You may also experience leg cramps or restless legs syndrome.

• Thirst and frequent urination. Expect to feel very thirsty and to have to make constant trips to the bathroom as the lower portion of the baby presses on your bladder.

• Itching. Some mothers experience an extremely itchy belly, thighs, and chest, with accompanying red bumpy rashes (called Pruritic Urticated Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy, or PUPPP).

• Skin and vein changes. You’ll probably have the usual skin discolorations, including darkening of parts of your face, darker breasts and vagina, a dark stripe down your middle, spidery looking veins, and varicose veins in your legs. (Most of these are all temporary and will fade in time.)

• Bowel changes. As your intestines slow down, you may have bouts of constipation and swelling around your anus (hemorrhoids).

• Awkwardness. As your body enlarges, you’ll have trouble getting up from a lying-down position, difficulty taking deep breaths, and you’ll be unable to see your feet or bend down enough to tie your own shoes.

• “Practice” contractions. Before labor becomes active, you may experience “practice” contractions that can be uncomfortable but aren’t signs that labor is actually starting.