Uterine tone during pregnancy in the second trimester: symptoms, causes, treatment, consequences

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-01 17:06

While carrying a child, women often face problems and complications, one of which is uterine hypertonicity. It causes not only discomfort and discomfort, but also serious disturbances in the body.

Regardless of the reasons that provoke such a condition, observation by the attending physician is a mandatory measure. Only a specialist, taking into account the condition of a pregnant woman, will be able to choose the right method of therapy and prescribe appropriate drugs for uterine tone during pregnancy in the second trimester.

What is this?

Tension of the muscles of the uterus is called tone. Strong pressure on the muscle fibers of the organ causes tension and pain. If the pregnancy proceeds without complications, the uterus is at rest until delivery.

Of course, this is a muscular organ, and it contracts during laughter, coughing, sneezing or sudden movements. But such contractions pass quickly, without causing pain and harm. The tone of the uterus can be normal, low or high.

For example, ifa woman is exposed to stress, emotional or physical stress, the muscles of the uterus contract, causing an increased tone.

The second trimester of pregnancy starts at 14 weeks and ends at 27 weeks. The tone of the uterus that occurs during this period can cause oxygen starvation of the child, in the worst case, a miscarriage. Therefore, at the first pain symptoms and suspicions of tone, you should immediately inform the obstetrician-gynecologist who is leading the pregnancy.

Main causes of tone in the second trimester

Doctors identify two types of causes that provoke tone: physiological and psychosomatic. More about this will be discussed below.

Physiological

Physiological causes of uterine tone in the second trimester of pregnancy are directly related to the lifestyle and he alth of the expectant mother. If a woman experiences heavy physical exertion at work, spends a lot of time “on her feet”, this will certainly affect her well-being.

Loads in everyday life, lifting objects heavier than 3 kg can provoke tone. Poor sleep and overwork will adversely affect a woman's he alth and may harm the baby. Therefore, you should give up hard work and devote more time to rest, walks in the fresh air and positive emotions.

A woman's age, nutrition, alcohol consumption and smoking, the general condition of the body, previous and existing diseases directly affect the pathology. Physiological causes include miscarriages,abortions, hereditary factor, number and course of previous pregnancies.

Inflammatory and viral diseases, such as fibroids, pyelonephritis, tonsillitis or influenza, can also cause uterine tone. A common cause of pathology is the mismatch between the Rh factor of the child and the mother. In this case, the body perceives the fetus as a foreign body and reacts to it by tensing the uterine muscles.

Incorrect bowel function also provokes an increased tone of the uterus. Frequent constipation is the reason.

Psychosomatic

Psychosomatic causes of tone in the second trimester of pregnancy are at the subconscious level, and often not easy to deal with. These include stress, emotional stress, worries and phobias associated with childbearing and childbirth.

Fear of childbirth is a powerful factor that provokes mood swings, constant tension and insomnia. An unstable emotional background can cause uterine tone.

Very often several factors influence the development of tone. This may be poor nutrition of a pregnant woman, combined with stress at work and untimely rest. Stresses, tensions, which are aggravated by diseases or complications during pregnancy, are affected.

Symptoms indicating uterine tone

Women are characterized by the following symptoms of uterine tone in the second trimester of pregnancy:

1. Lower back pain when moving, it can be muffled or pronounced.
2. Feelings of increased hardness of the lower abdomen. Associated with se althe walls of the vagina.
3. General weakness of the body, dizziness, possible loss of consciousness.
4. Nausea or vomiting, which is not typical in the second trimester, since toxicosis is most often observed in the initial weeks of pregnancy.
5. Pain in the lower abdomen of a pulling nature, which may be accompanied by bloody discharge.
6. Frequent and painful uterine cramps are also a characteristic sign of uterine tone in the second trimester of pregnancy.

The child also reacts to the disease, he may begin to behave too actively or, conversely, his movements will become less frequent and weaker.

Methods to detect increased tone

A woman at home can do a small test to determine the tone of the uterus. It is necessary to lie on your back or left side, but not on a soft surface. An elastic and hard sofa is ideal. After you need to carefully examine the lower abdomen. If during the examination the lower abdomen is soft and painless, there is no tone. If seals are palpable, the lower abdomen is firm and elastic, this may indicate a pathology that has arisen.

Greater results can be achieved by visiting a doctor. He initially examines a pregnant woman for the presence of a seal on the anterior abdominal wall. This is called palpation.

After the doctor can prescribe an ultrasound, it helps to more accurately assess the severity of the pathology. The tone can spread to the entire organ or pass through a certain part of it: along the front or back wall. It is impossible to independently determine on which wall the increased tone is.

Treatment of disease

Therapy can be prescribed only by a doctor, based on the condition of the woman and the fetus, the severity of the pathology. If the disease is not severe, outpatient treatment with the use of antispasmodics is prescribed. Popular and effective are the drugs "Papaverin", "Spazmoton", "Drotoverin" or "No-Shpa".

The latter effectively relieves muscle tension and eliminates pain. The drug "Papaverine" is produced in the form of suppositories and directly affects the body without passing through the body and liver. Candles are good because the liver does not suffer from foreign compounds.

"Spazmoton" is a drug for intramuscular injection. It is prescribed for inpatient treatment, in severe cases of pathology. When using it, constant monitoring of the course of pregnancy, the condition of the fetus and mother is necessary, since the drug has possible complications in the form of vomiting and nausea.

Initially, you need to determine the causes of the tone, then eliminate them. If the tone is associated with a lack of hormones, the doctor prescribes drugs with their content. Most often, the tone of the uterus is provoked by a lack of the hormone progesterone. You can replenish its content with the drug "Dufaston".

It normalizes the condition of the uterus and eliminates other symptoms associated with a lack of a hormone.

Sedatives

If the tone is associated with the emotional and mental stress of the pregnant woman, the doctor prescribes sedatives. These include motherwort, infusionvalerian and the homeopathic preparation Viburkol.

The last preparation consists of herbal ingredients that relieve muscle tension and have a calming effect. "Viburkol" is allowed for pregnant women who do not experience frequent allergic reactions and tolerate all the components of the drug.

Medicines that suppress uterine activity

Often, drugs that suppress its activity are prescribed to treat uterine tone. With symptoms of tone in the second trimester of pregnancy, according to reviews, the most effective are such remedies as Magnesia, Nifedipine, Magne B_6.

"Magne B_{6" can be taken alone at home as a treatment or prophylactic drug. The tool relieves muscle tone, preventing its recurrence, and also improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system.}

The preparations "Magnesia" and "Nifedepin" are used in the inpatient treatment of a woman. Medicines are administered intravenously, by drip, along with saline. The products are not recommended for women with low blood pressure, as they contribute to its further reduction.

Recommendations

In addition to drugs, the doctor recommends bed rest for the patient or more time for rest. We need a clear daily routine, proper nutrition, walks in the fresh air, if necessary, sexual activity is prohibited.

If you ignore this pathology and doctor's prescription, uterine tone can be dangerous to he althwomen and child.

Consequences and dangers

Pain associated with increased uterine tone can provoke complications.

Tone at 20-21 weeks of gestation increases the risk of miscarriage or voluntary termination of pregnancy. At 24-27 weeks, it can cause premature birth or abnormal intrauterine development of the child. Blood circulation worsens, the fetus does not receive all the necessary vitamins, oxygen starvation occurs. These factors disrupt the development of the fetus and may be the cause of its death. At 12-16 weeks of pregnancy, the tone can cause placental abruption, which also leads to miscarriage.

Of particular danger is the tone of the uterine wall, to which the placenta is attached. Pathology is determined by ultrasound, a pregnant woman with local tone needs urgent hospitalization. Refusal of the latter and treatment is dangerous with placental abruption and the death of the child.

Prevention measures

The development of uterine tone can be prevented by being more attentive to lifestyle.

For a he althy pregnancy, you need to devote more time to rest, alternate physical activity with complete relaxation of the body and body muscles. It is possible and even necessary to do yoga and gymnastics for pregnant women, but after that a woman needs rest.

Fresh air is good for both mom and baby, but walking should not tire, cause fatigue and stress. Housework should be light, without heavy lifting. House cleaning needs to be donegradually, alternating it with minutes of rest.

The tone of the uterus excludes the possibility of intimacy, it will need to be stopped for a while or completely excluded, based on the recommendations of the doctor.

Sleep of a pregnant woman should be complete, in a well-ventilated room. For a comfortable sleeping position, you can purchase a special pillow for pregnant women or put a regular pillow between your legs.

Stress and excitement are contraindicated, the emotional state of a pregnant woman must be treated carefully not only by the woman herself, but also by those around her. The expectant mother must learn to calmly respond to many unpleasant moments, remembering the child.

Exercise

Breathing exercises help to focus and calm down. One of these is a slow and deep inhalation through the nose and a quick exhalation through the mouth. With any negative emotions, you need to think about the upcoming meeting with the baby. This advice is simple, but very effective, since the psychological state of a woman directly affects the tone of the uterus.

Attention should be paid to gymnastics for pregnant women, which relieves tension from the muscles and organs of the small pelvis. The exercise "Cat" is effective. The woman should get on all fours, making maximum support in the palm of her hand. After raising your head and bending your back as much as possible, linger in this position for 5 seconds. Then you need to return to the starting position and repeat the exercise 4-5 times. After doing this, the woman needs to rest for an hour, you can just lie down, relaxing the body.

Good result in removing andprevention of tone shows an exercise to relax the muscles of the face. No matter how strange it may sound, the muscles of the face and neck are closely related to the muscles of the uterus. Relaxing them, the state of the latter returns to normal. When performing the exercise, you need to lower your head, relax your face and breathe through your mouth.

Conclusion

Prevention of tone is the timely detection and treatment of inflammatory and viral diseases.

A woman should monitor her diet, follow a diet, unload her body every 7 days. Food should be rich in vitamins and minerals, you need to exclude harmful fatty, smoked and s alty foods.

Self-treatment in this situation is unacceptable, as it threatens the child with danger. In case of manifestation of the first symptoms, it is necessary to undergo an examination by a doctor and follow all recommendations for the treatment and prevention of pathology.