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Lightning Crotch

What Is Lightning Crotch?

Lightning Crotch is a colloquial phrase that describes a common phenomenon pregnant women experience at any time prenatally, but especially in the weeks preceding labor, described by many as a series of slight or severe intense sudden jolting, sharp, stinging, shooting, or electrical-shock-like pains, or feelings of burning and pins-and-needles in the cervix, vagina, lower abdomen, rectum, or pelvis that each last for a few seconds, shorter in duration than a menstrual cramp.

Pain from Lightning Crotch may also radiate or refer to the inner thigh, back, thigh, or groin areas.

The pain may start in the groin and travel down the thigh.

Lightning Crotch can usually be differentiated from other sorts of pelvic pain in the pregnant person because the pain in the vagina, rectum, or pelvis starts suddenly in response to movement of the baby, like the baby kicking, for instance.

How Painful Is Lightning Crotch?

The pain may be perceived as a slight discomfort or of such intensity that you're doubled over by a blot of pain that "takes your breathe away.".

The determining factors include the size of the fetus and the baby's position, as well as the individual pregnant women's other differences.

When Can You Experience Lightning Crotch?

Lightning Crotch is not a constant, steady pain, but rather comes suddenly and goes quickly, without leaving residual pain between episodes.

The Lightning Crotch pains usually disappear, or subside to a great extent, once the baby is born.

The pain and discomfort, regardless of precisely what you're experiencing during an episode of Lightning Crotch, is often worsened by standing, sitting, or moving.

Sitting for prolonged periods without getting up to stretch can be particularly triggering.

Women who aren't pregnant can also experience pain that feels like Lighting Crotch, and this is a may be a cause for your doctor to investigate further.

Does Lighting Crotch Mean There's a Serious Issue?

Every pregnant person, and every single pregnancy, is different, and while many prenatal women experience Lightning Crotch, not everyone will.

Even if you've experienced it in your first pregnancy, there's no guarantee you will in your subsequent pregnancies, and the reverse is also true.

Just know that Lightning Crotch doesn't indicate any serious underlying issues with you or your baby.

Are There Any Lighting Crotch Red Flags?

Other sorts of symptoms and signs accompanying Lighting Crotch can mean you have an infection, or other issues of concern and need to see your ob-gyn.

The pain should not begin lasting longer and longer as the days pass, and if the pain lasts longer than a minute each time you feel it, definitely seek help from your pregnancy professional.

If you're also bleeding or having an unusual vaginal discharge, you're dizzy or have a fever over 100 degreed Fahrenheit, seek help, and don't delay.

In the event that you're experiencing severe headaches, or the pain isn't subsiding or worsening, that is a cause for your doctor to investigate further.

If you're feeling like you're getting your period or having strong cramps and abdominal pain, those are also accompanying symptoms indicating that a closer look is in order, immediately.

Sudden swelling of your face, hands, or feet, as well as vision problems (e.g., blurring, dimness of vision, or seeing spots) you never had before, are important indicators that you need to schedule an emergency visit with your birth care provider.

Does Experiencing Lighting Crotch Mean I'll Give Birth Soon?

Experiencing Lighting Crotch doesn't mean pre-term labor is imminent.

At the end of the pregnancy, however, Lightning Crotch can mean that birth is coming soon. There are better indicators, and so don't rely on this alone.

And, it's also possible to be experiencing contractions and mistakenly think it's merely Lightning Crotch.

A sudden and rapid release of fluid from your vagina, enough to soak through your undergarments, along with feeling Lighting Crotch, can mean that your “water broke."

What's the Main Cause of Lightning Crotch?

In pregnant women, the growing baby's weight and size at the close of the third trimester contribute to pressure against the cervix and nerves that, at times, is worse because of the baby's shifting position, as well as the baby kicking, stretching, and moving around, becoming more active.

Lightning Crotch is also sometimes associated with a pregnant person's body preparing for labor and delivery, as the baby starts getting ready to traverse the birth canal and be born, but it's not really a reliable indicator that you'll be going into labor, shortly.

When the baby has descended and the head is situated lower in the pelvis, the resulting pressure on the cervix and lower uterine uterus can cause this condition.

Another cause of Lightning Crotch is the cervix dilating, opening up to prepare for labor and delivery. The fetus exerting pressure from gravity onto the ripening, less-firm cervix can be painful.

Lightning Crotch As In "Flashes of Pain" Akin To Lighting or Something Else Entirely?

While not actually a recognized medical term, Lightning Crotch is often used in medical settings by medical professionals, and by pregnant women in social situations.

No one really knows how the term Lightning Crotch came into being.

However, there's a good possibility that we're really way, way off when we associate the term with a feeling of sharp lightning-like pain in the pelvis, uterus, vagina, or cervix like an electric shock.

Fetal Engagement, otherwise known as "Lightening," or "the Baby Dropping," refers to when the widest parts of the baby, the head or buttocks, descends into the space of the lower pelvis.

When this happens, it's a good indicator that the mother's pelvis is wide enough to permit a vaginal birth.

It may well be that midwives, or nurses, coined this term to refer to a symptom of "Lightening," or "Baby Dropping," and has nothing to do with the nature of the shooting-type pain.

In that case, the term may have actually been spelled "Lightening Crotch," and not "Lightning Crotch," as we spell it today.

Can I Experience Lightning Crotch During the 1st or 2nd Trimesters?

Some women experience Lightning Crotch during the first and second trimesters.

How is this possible?

"Lightning Crotch" is just a term referring to a vague pain experience resulting from nerve compression to the cervix or uterus.

While less likely than experiencing this in the third trimester, a baby's position may cause this at any time during pregnancy, even while smaller, and earlier in the pregnancy than the third trimester.

Every pregnancy is different.

How Can I Differentiate Round Ligament Pain From Lighting Crotch?

Pain in the cervix, uterus, vagina, and pelvis stem from multiple causes.

Sometimes Round Ligament pain results from the stretching of the uterine support ligaments. The Round Ligaments stretch up to 10-12 centimeters in length during pregnancy, and these rope-like ligaments often the actual cause of what's mistakenly called "Lightning Crotch" experienced during the first and second trimester.

Round ligament pain often begins in the second trimester, around weeks 14 to 27.

Even so, true Lightning Crotch can happen any time during pregnancy due to nerve compression, even with a smaller baby in the first or second trimester.

Lightning Crotch pain is not at all the same as Round Ligament pain, in actuality.

Pain originating with the Round Ligament feels more like a aching, a sharp or dull pain sensation beginning in your lower abdomen and moving outward towards the hip bones.

In contrasts, Lightning Crotch usually feels like a sharp pain or electric shock to the pelvis or vagina.

Round Ligament pain is most common in the second trimester as the uterus grows and changes positions to accommodate the growing baby, and Lightning Crotch usually happens at the end of the third trimester.

Can Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction (SPD) Or Pelvic Girdle Pain Be Mistaken For Lightning Crotch?

There is yet another condition known as Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction, or SPD for short, which may be mistaken for Lightning Crotch if you don't know the difference between the two.

The pelvic bones can pull away from one another in the front, and actually separate.

The pelvic bones are shifting, in response to the baby descending into the lower pelvis. The widening of the pelvis prepares the mother's body for labor and delivery.

Fortunately, there are a few ways to differentiate between Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction and Lightning Crotch.

SPD causes long-lasting pain that's often chronic, in contrast with lightning crotch which passes quickly, usually in well-under a minute.

If your pain is worse at night or after you've been very active, SPD may be the cause.

Lightning Crotch can happen at any time, it's true, but it's especially common especially when the baby is active and moving or at the end of pregnancy.

SPD often flares up in response to movement such as walking or climbing stairs, and it can hamper your mobility, while lightning crotch is fleeting.

The pain from SPD is often focused moire in the front of the pelvis, in the bone and ligamentous tissues, rather than the vagina or uterus, and the quality of the pain is more an ache than an electric shock.

What's Are Some Other Causes of Lightning Crotch?

As stated above, a series of intense sudden sharp, shooting pains in the cervix, vagina, lower abdomen, or pelvis can happen from either pressure on the cervix and vaginal nerves or round ligament pain.

But that's not nearly all.

Hormonal changes during pregnancy can also contribute to Lightning Crotch.

A bladder infection, urinary tract infection, or other infection of pelvic tissues can also create sensations that feel like Lightning Crotch.

An ectopic pregnancy can also cause Lighting Crotch pain.

Can Lightning Crotch Be a Sign I'm Going Into Labor?

Pelvic pains during pregnancy usually occur at the early stages of labor. Pelvic pains during pregnancy usually also occur at any other stage of the pregnancy, to be most accurate.

While it's true that Lightning Crotch does not necessarily indicate you’re going into labor. However, the pain of "lightening" also causes Lightening Crotch, and so Lightening Crotch pain along with other symptoms may then indicate that labor is fast approaching.

If you experience any of the following symptoms along with pelvic pain that feels like what's described as Lighting Crotch, call your birth professional immediately, especially if you're having consistent contractions, and the contractions are coming faster and increasing in duration and intensity:

Period-like cramps
Pelvic pressure
Diarrhea
A feeling of energy
Loss of your mucus plug

The mucus that the body creates at the cervix, cutting the uterus off from the outside world, and in doing so, to protects the fetus from pathogens and environmental stressors. When that goes, it's a big indicator.

Should You Sit For a Long Time If You Have Lightning Crotch?

If you must sit, that's fine. However keep in mind that sitting for long stretches can definitely trigger lightning crotch pain.

We advise considering standing, stretching (in place, if necessary), and walking around periodically. Sitting for long periods of time without moving is not advisable for any person, but it's especially true for women suffering from Lighting Crotch pains.

What Are Some Ways I can Sit, Stand, or Move To Relieve Lightning Crotch?

Paying attention to Movement and Posture can help address Lightning Crotch.

While there's no way to guarantee stopping Lighting Crotch from happening in the future and be sure that the pain won't return, there are tactics you can take to minimize the occurrence of Lightning Crotch, according to research.

The first, and most immediate strategy is to change positions if you're experiencing Lightning Crotch, which can help stop the pain by shifting the position of the baby in the womb.

Gentle movement, like walking around for even a few moments, can help relive a bout of Lighting Crotch by shifting the baby's position also.

Doing (pregnancy-safe) Hatha yoga asanas can help as well, focusing particularly on exercises that will stretch the pelvis.

Sleeping or lying on your side on the couch can also help, just like every other Lightning Crotch relief that is based on shifting the baby's weight around internally.

Placing a pillow between the legs when sleeping or lounging on the couch has helped many women, according to reports.

What Are Some Things I can Do On My Own To Seek Relief From Lightning Crotch?

Wearing a belly support band can also help lift the baby up and off of your pelvis. Your partner can hold your belly from behind and perform a gentle lift. Both these strategies can help with Lightning Crotch by taking some weight off of the pelvis, relieving compressed nerves.

Applying a warm compress to the pelvic area can provide some comfort if you're suffering from Lightning Crotch.

Taking a warm bath may also work, as the warm water can help ease discomfort and help you feel soothed.

Having a Prenatal Massage session performed by a trained LMT can help immensely, stretching the pelvic floor, relaxing muscles and ligaments, and easing aches and pains associated with Lightning Crotch. (click to read more, please.)

Kegel exercises, as well as other pelvic floor exercises the strengthen the muscles around the pelvis, can also help with Lightning Crotch. (click to read more, please.)

A Pelvic Block is an injection of strong prescription pain medication that works directly at the site of the pain, and is reserved for lingering pain, usually a rarity for Lightning Crotch, but still a possibility.

If your health care practitioner has established, without a doubt, that the cause of your intractable and longstanding pain is, indeed, Lightning Crotch, and not something more serious, then a Pelvic Block is on your list of viable choices to stop the pain.

Chiropractic adjustments focused on areas of the pelvis that are tight may also help relieve impinged nerves.

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