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Expert Q&A:
My stomach gets really tight and uncomfortable -- is this normal?

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Margaret Freda
Answered by Margaret Freda Ed.D., R.N., C.H.E.S., F.A.A.N.
"I've been a professional nurse working with pregnant women and parenting families since 1966," says Margaret Comerford Freda. "Pregnant women and parents need to know as much as possible about their own health and that of their children."

Margaret Comerford Freda, Ed.D., R.N., C.H.E.S., F.A.A.N., is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics &; Gynecology and Women's Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, and also serves as Director of Patient Education Programs for that department. Since 1993, Dr. Freda has been the Consultant for Nursing at the National March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation and the Chair of the National March of Dimes Nurse Advisory Council. In addition, Dr. Freda serves as the editor of MCN, The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing.

Dr. Freda received her Master's Degree in Nursing from New York University and her doctorate in Health Education from Columbia University. She has worked in women's health for her entire professional career. Dr. Freda has published 50 research articles in professional journals, and is a frequently invited speaker at nursing and medical conferences. She has written two books: Perinatal Patient Education, published by Lippincott Williams &; Wilkins, and Miscarriage After Infertility, published by Fairview Press, written with her daughter Carrie Semelsberger, who is also a nurse.

Dr. Freda has received several noteworthy awards, such as the Distinguished Professional Service Award and the First National Award for Excellence in Nursing Research from the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), the Woman of Distinction Award and the Maternal Child Nurse of the Year Award from the March of Dimes, the Patient Care Award for Excellence in Patient Education from the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Research Recognition Award from Molloy College, and several Outstanding Research Paper awards at national conferences. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Council for the March of Dimes, and was selected to serve on the Select Panel of the Centers for Disease Control to advise on prenatal health. Dr. Freda has developed patient education booklets and videotapes that are now distributed nationally.

Dr. Freda has been married for four decades. She has two daughters, two sons-in-law, three grandsons, and a granddaughter.
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Question


My stomach gets really tight and is very uncomfortable. The baby isn't due for several months and this is my first child. Is something wrong or is this normal?

Answer


I think this is something you need to discuss with your health care provider, since it's quite difficult to tell the exact nature of your complaint from afar. It could be that this is nothing to worry about, and your discomfort is only the stretching of the uterus, but it could be that you are feeling early symptoms of preterm labor, and that is not a good thing several months before your due date. Go see your provider and explain exactly what you are feeling and where you are feeling it, and I bet your provider will examine you and be able to tell the nature of your complaint.

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Member comments

The tightness is just the baby moving or either balling up! I have the same feelings and I'm 23 week..

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