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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Rib and Chest Pain During Pregnancy (Week 30)

A week ago I started getting pain in my chest whenever I laid down to sleep either on my side or my back. I ended up having to sleep in my recliner upright for a few days for the pain to go away. Thank goodness I had an airplane neck pillow and a extremely comfy chair to get me through that time. The pain in my chest started just a few minutes after laying down, and radiated from my sternum (chest bone) and through my rib muscles on each side of it. The pain would make breathing more difficult, and the only thing that I could do to alleviate the pain the next day would be to have my partner stretch my chest muscles a few times throughout the day.

Although I have had this pain before I was pregnant, it would be rare. I would wake up in the morning with a stiffness in my chest, but shortly after getting out of bed and moving around the pain would subside.

Topical Pain Relief Creams a "No-Go"
A visit to the pharmacy for some topical muscle relief cream proved fruitless. I'm not allowed to take any anti-inflammatories, whether orally or topically, while pregnant. Not good. Fearing the worst--that the pain would last for the remaining two months of my pregnancy--I did some research online to see what was going on: why was the pain so severe, and why was it so consistent? The results I found were unsatisfying.

Is it Heartburn?
If you Google "chest pain during pregnancy" or "sternum pain during pregnancy", the results overwhelmingly tell you that what you have is heartburn. That's' baloney, I say. Here's what the symptoms are for heartburn:
  • A burning sensation in the chest
  • A burning feeling in the throat
  • Feeling of food "sticking" in the middle of the chest or throat
  • Sour or bitter taste in the mouth
  • Difficulty swallowing
I know what heartburn feels like. It has visited me sporadically throughout my pregnancy. It's not fun, but it's not the kind of pain I was feeling. So what is it, then?

No One Really Knows What Causes It
The sobering truth is, there's no clearcut explanation for why this happens to pregnant women. There is a condition, known as Costochondritis, which is an inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone (sternum). It causes sharp pain where your ribs and breastbone join....Hmmm, okay, this sounds a lot more like what I've been going through. My sternum and the muscles on either side of it are sore to the touch. Having said this, I'm not into self-diagnosis, so I'm also not about to jump to the conclusion that this is what I have.

Pain in the ribs and sternum is not uncommon to pregnant women. As the baby grows, the uterus expands and can put pressure on your ribs. The Intercostal muscles, which are located between ribs, can become strained. Rib pain can make movements and even breathing painful. During pregnancy, it may be difficult to find a position which isn't painful, which seems to complicate the situation. 

Okay, so the question remains: what can I do about the pain?

How to Ease Rib and Chest Pain During Pregnancy
Pain Medication. Before taking any medication, confirm that it is okay to do so with your doctor. Tylenol is generally considered safe during pregnancy, and more severe rib pain may take a stronger pain medicine. Many different types of pain medication can be prescribed during pregnancy for rib pain, but your doctor will need to decide which medicine is best for your pregnancy. 

Open up the chest. Sit upright in a comfortable chair and place a small pillow in the small of your back creating an arch. This will take some of the pressure off your rib pain and make it easier to breathe again. You will know when you find the angle that works best for you, some pregnant women need more of an arch than others.

Stretch the chest. Follow this link to find instructions on how to do an assisted chest stretch. Being pregnant, it is easier if you are seated in a chair. Your partner will have to raise his or her knee to place it between your shoulder blades. This stretch was my lifesaver--it immediately reduced the pain to almost nothing, and by the end of the day I'd have no pain at all.

Use ice to reduce inflammation. Place a bag of ice or a chilled gel pack on your ribs where the most pain is. If you have rib pain on both sides, place ice over each. It is generally considered best to have a thin layer of cloth between ice and skin, so you may be most comfortable by placing your ice pack right over your clothing. 

Raise your arms above your head. While seated, either with the ice packs or without, raise your arms above your head. I have a high back recliner, and I can grab the back of the seat with my hands to prevent my arms from getting tired. It's a great way to take the pressure of my uterus off my lower ribs. Hold this position as long as is comfortable, and repeat as needed.

20 comments:

  1. These are very tough months for the pregnant mother who has to go through so many pains and aches and still stay away from medicines to avoid the child inside bearing the side effects from it,good tips here.

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  2. Thanks for sharing the symptom...helps to know when we go through them or see them happening with friends or family and get correct diagnosis from the doctor.

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  3. Thanks for the awesome article. I've experienced the same chest pain that I KNOW is NOT heartburn, so this was very helpful

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  4. Thanks for this - I have excatly the same paid but wasn;t really aware how to cure it. Some simple and effective tips here!

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  5. Hi. I've been experiencing the same issue for almost 2 weeks now. I'm on my 35th month of pregnancy and the pain I'm experiencing is really immobilizing me, knocking the air out of me making it hard to breathe. I characterize the pain as a hot knife stabbing my upper right chest leaving a terrible pain vibrating to my back. I noticed experiencing this after I stopped taking my vitamins fearing that my baby will grow so big I may end up delivering thru C-section.Could this be an issue?

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  6. I had this same pain with my first pregnancy and come to think of it it did began to worsen to irritating pain once I stopped taking my prenatals. Awesome informative article! Will try these stretches and start back the prenatals.

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  7. Your information is great for Ladies that have less time or money to visit doctors with money and wait.

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  8. Old thread, new answer. After much much pain and trying, I've found the best way to get rid of my rib pain (the kind you get from baby/uterus pressed up against ribs, causing unbearable pain).

    Pillows. Seriously. That's it. If you're sitting all day, place a fitting sized pillow against your abdomen and slouch over on it and lean forward slightly.

    If that doesn't work, you can try it with laying down. Stack two or three pillows up for you to sit on, and two or three pillows in front of those for your chest. then sit on the pillows. your legs should fit comfortably on both sides of the pillows for kneeling. Then, you lay forward with your chest on the stack of pillows in front of you. Your belly should fit in between the pillow stacks so you're not squishing yourself. you may end up looking like an awkward frog, but it is definitely worth it, especially when LO is crushing your ribs even when laying down because of the weight.

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  9. after reading this i feel at ease, thank you fpr this article and all the replys :)

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  10. This can also be a sign of HELLP syndrome.

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  11. I just went googling trying to find out if the chest pain I have at the top of my sternum is related to pregnancy at all. I tried raising my arms above my head and that does help. Thanks.

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  12. Article contains so many fruitful information which will be liked by the readers as in my opinion this is the best article in this category.

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  13. Thank you for sharing this! I was recently dehydrated thanks to a stomach bug and had this pain for the first time while I was in Labor and Delivery getting IV fluids to stop the contains. I'm 33 weeks along. They sent me to the ER it was so bad. But the few times I've been able to lay down since, the pain returns but not as severe as it was in the hospital. I will try the stretches in the morning :-) Glad to know that I'm not imagining this and that it's not anxiety.

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