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A bloated belly or pregnant – sometimes it’s not easy to tell the difference. If the belly is unusually thick and round, careful analysis will help.
Pregnant and bloated belly: analysis necessary
The waistband is difficult to close and the bulge under the shirt is clearly visible? This sometimes makes those affected and outsiders wonder whether a baby might be growing in the belly. Sometimes, however, it is “just” a round belly. Distinguishing between the two is sometimes not easy, but it is possible.
- In both cases, the bulging belly is firm and cannot be easily pushed in – unlike accumulated belly fat, which is relatively soft to the touch.
- Discomfort such as a feeling of fullness after eating little and stomach pressure are typical in both situations. A pulling sensation in the abdominal area can therefore be interpreted in both directions.
- Nausea can occur both during pregnancy and with a bloated stomach;
- In the first few weeks of pregnancy, the body undergoes hormonal changes. This can also lead to poorer digestion with constipation and bloating. In individual cases, both causes can occur at the same time and cause a round belly to grow.
Symptoms of a bloated belly: recognizing and understanding
The first thing to do is to stay calm, even if you may be upset by the increase in the size of your belly. Think about your eating habits and observe yourself closely. Then you may recognize signs that indicate that you are not pregnant but have a bloated belly.
- If you notice your belly bulging more at lunchtime or in the evening, this could be an indication that the rounding develops quite rapidly during the day. This points to a bloated belly caused by what you have eaten.
- If you feel bloated at the same time, then too much gas (CO2 or O2) is a possible cause of your rounded belly. Try to find out whether one of the next two points applies to you.
- Have you changed your eating habits recently? If you have been eating more fiber, grains, legumes, fruit or dairy products than usual for you, your bulging belly may indicate a food intolerance or be a symptom of irritable bowel syndrome.
- Have you been overly stressed in the past few days, have you been wolfing down your meals rather than enjoying them leisurely or are you possibly eating while walking or talking a lot? You could be swallowing too much air, which temporarily accumulates in your stomach and stretches your abdomen.
- It can be really dangerous if your abdomen is so over-inflated because you have an intestinal blockage. In this case, medical help must be sought immediately. In this case, the abdomen bulges very suddenly, accompanied by severe pain.
- Even if you have less severe discomfort due to your only slightly distended abdomen, but this occurs permanently or repeatedly, it is advisable to consult a doctor to clarify the causes.
Pregnancy: when the belly starts to grow
Misjudging a pregnancy happens from time to time. The surprise is all the greater when, weeks later, it turns out that the supposedly bloated belly is getting bigger and a baby is actually growing. The following points indicate a pregnancy:
- The belly is gradually increasing in size and getting bigger by the day? Although a baby’s belly also grows in stages, it grows continuously from small to large. The size and circumference of a pregnant belly vary from person to person.
- At the beginning of pregnancy, some women initially notice a feeling of fullness or tension in the abdomen – however, the belly is not yet visibly bulging in these first few weeks.
- It is not until around 8 weeks after fertilization of the egg that women usually notice that their belly begins to bulge slightly. From the 3rd month onwards, the pregnant belly becomes more noticeable to the expectant mother. For outsiders, the ‘belly signal’ is only visible from around the 5th month of pregnancy.
- If you can already clearly feel your belly bulge in the morning, then you could actually be pregnant. However, if the tension only builds up during the course of the day or after meals, then intestinal activity is a possible cause.
- Check yourself and think critically about your last periods. Bleeding does not always stop completely. If your period was different, for example weaker or much shorter than before, this could also mean that a fertilized egg has implanted in your uterus and new life is growing;
- Do you feel tired more often and feel like you need more sleep? This is also typical of the start of pregnancy;
- Nausea and vomiting, especially in the morning, or a very frequent urge to urinate can also accompany the implantation of the fertilized egg and the growth of an embryo.
- If you have a feeling of tightness in your breasts and are suddenly much more sensitive to different smells than you are used to, these can also be signs of pregnancy.
- If your belly is bulging due to pregnancy, a rapid pregnancy test can quickly solve the mystery. If you are unsure, you can use a urine test to find out quite early on whether you could be expecting a baby or not – the result of a very sensitive digital test can be positive from as early as the 10th day after conception. Not every negative result is possible with measurements taken before the expected period
- The best way to check whether you think you might be pregnant is to see your gynecologist. You will be on the safe side there. If it is ‘only’ a bloated belly, you will at least be under medical supervision so that further measures can be taken.
- By the way: Many women also report bloating after a caesarean section
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