Can stress cause sharp stabbing pain in the abdomen?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am 21 weeks pregnant and have been feeling severe sharp stabbing cramps in my stomach along with feeling fainting and temperature. I have been under extreme stress for a while now and want to know if it is possible that is the cause.

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Thank you for your query.

It would be better if you send your detailed obstetrics and gynecological, medical, and drug history. It could be digestive system-related, drug-related, stress or anxiety related, any already present illness aggregation or preterm labor-like pains, etc. Have you been experiencing any emotional or psychological issues? Are you undergoing any treatment for that? Now, instead of having stress, try moving to tertiary care. Obstetrics and the emergency department may have a general physical examination, fetal well-being scan, and pelvic, abdominal, and vaginal examination to exclude any pathology. Drug-related or stomach acidity related, also it could be if you do not get any pathology related to gynecology. Just need to exclude preterm labor like pain, fetal heart activity to be proper, no cervical changes should be monitored, high vaginal swab to be taken while speculum examination to exclude pelvic infections, and a report of the swab to be followed. If nothing significant happens during a gynecology-related examination, including blood pressure, then better to have on physician consultation with proper drug and medical history.

I suggest you to follow a few instructions mentioned below.

Have a soft diet and plenty of water, juices, and fruits.
Avoid eating foods that cause constipation.
Have cold milk during bedtime and after waking up in the morning.
Have recreational activities and quit recreational drugs.
Try to avoid unnecessary medications, and if they are needed, then better to discuss with your treating doctor to revise it with pregnancy-friendly drugs.

I hope this has helped you. Thank you.