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Cramps during early pregnancy are something that happens to many women. Your body is changing and getting ready for your baby to grow.

Many women will experience mild cramps during the first few weeks of pregnancy. In fact, a lot of women think that they are getting ready to start their periods because they feel cramping. This article will teach how why you cramp in early pregnancy and when to call your doctor.

Your uterus consists mainly of muscle and other surrounding tissues that enable it to expand during pregnancy and to contract when it’s time for childbirth. These actions are triggered by hormones.

Some women may feel light cramping when the fertilized egg implants itself into the uterine wall. This can take place as early as six to eight days after fertilization. You may experience some light bleeding or “spotting” when the egg implants itself. Another reason for cramping in early pregnancy is that hormones have triggered your uterus to expand to get ready for the growing baby. These cramps may be uncomfortable and feel a lot like period cramps. This is perfectly normal as long as they don’t become severe and are accompanied by heavy bleeding. Cramps are most likely to occur after sexual activity or when your bladder is full. The round ligaments support your uterus. As your uterus grows the round ligaments must expand to support it. This may cause a feeling of cramping or a dull ache in your lower abdomen. It should go away with rest. However, if the cramping becomes severe and is accompanied by heavy bleeding, fever, or any other unusual symptoms, contacts your doctor right away.There are ways to treat cramps during early pregnancy. A good way to relieve cramping is by applying heat. A heating pad to the lower abdomen works wonder for cramps but be careful to not get it too hot. You may take acetaminophen for pain relief if needed. Sometimes this will help take the edge off of the cramps. But ibuprofen or other NSAIDS should not be taken during pregnancy. Never take any drugs unless it is allowed by your doctor.

Take care of yourself by getting plenty of rest and eating right. The changing hormones in your body can slow down digestion and make you constipated, which can cause abdominal pain. If you feel that you may be constipated, increase your fiber and water intake.

Finally, another way to help relieve cramps in pregnancy is to abstain from sex. Sex does not hurt you or the baby but may increase the cramping and cause some spotting. The combination of cramping and spotting can make you think that you are having a miscarriage.

Cramps during early pregnancy are quite common. Cramps should be mild and never unbearable. However, if they become severe or are more prevalent on one side and are accompanied by any other unusual symptoms, let your doctor know right away.

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Being pregnant is one of those points in your life when you need to follow your practitioner’s advice, take extra special care of yourself, keep healthy and put you and your baby first. Check out these pregnancy tips to help you enjoy this special period of your life.

· Good prenatal care is important for the health of your unborn child. Make an appointment as soon as you know you are pregnant and don’t skip any of your prenatal appointments. If there are to be any problems with your pregnancy the sooner they are detected the better!

· One of the best pregnancy tips I can give you is – stop smoking, preferably before you get pregnant but certainly once you are pregnant. Smoking is bad for the baby’s health, even secondary smoke so avoid smoky environments and ask people not to smoke around you.

· Stop drinking. No level of alcohol during pregnancy has been proven safe so stay off the alcohol throughout your pregnancy and while nursing.

· Exercise. Always check with your health care practitioner to make sure you get the amount of exercise that is right for you (in some circumstances exercise is not advisable) but as a general rule exercise is beneficial. It has been shown that exercising while you are pregnant can help reduce the time you spend in labour, aid your recovery following the birth, reduce the need for cesarean, help you return to your pre-pregnancy weight quicker and improve your overall health.

· Swimming is an excellent source of exercise which can help ease your aches and pains.

· Another top pregnancy tip is to change your eating habits as soon as you find out you are pregnant. Eat foods that are high in fibre, eat plenty of vegetables and include foods rich in iron, calcium, protein and folate in your diet.

· Talk to your health care provider about what you should eat and how much weight you should gain. If your diet is unlikely to contain sufficient folate, iron and calcium your practitioner is likely to recommend that you take supplements.

· Eat foods that are high in fibre, eat plenty of vegetables and include foods rich in iron, calcium, protein and folate in your diet.

· Eat a balanced diet and eat regularly. Don’t skip meals and don’t try and diet during pregnancy. Remember you are eating for two so you need to add 300 – 500 (healthy) calories a day to your diet.

· Limit your caffeine intake (tea, coffee, chocolate and soft drinks).

· Drink plenty of water, six – eight glasses a day.

· Join a prenatal class.

· First hand experience with babies is invaluable experience. If you have any friends or family with a baby offer to baby sit, get some experience and learn the ropes.

· When the nursery is being prepared remember, you as the expectant mum, must avoid all harmful fumes such paint stripper, paint and wall paper glue and delegate the heavy work.

· Don’t forget to baby proof your home.

· If you don’t have life insurance then now is the time to take out a policy.

· Make sure you have a Family Health Insurance Plan.

· Get your bags packed well in advance, you might have a due date but that doesn’t mean that your baby intends to stick to it!

· Pregnancy tip number 1. If you ever have any concerns over the way your pregnancy is developing, or what you can or cannot do, always seek the help and advice of your health care provider.

It is so easy during pregnancy to eat what we want, and as we get bigger our energy is slowly zapped by our growing baby, so it is no wonder that many of us look at our bodies after the baby comes and wonder “what happened?” If you want to avoid this during your pregnancy then you will need to stay active. Consider the following tips for pregnancy fitness, and try to keep them in mind as your belly grows bigger.

Stick with what you know, if you were a runner before you became pregnant, then with your doctor’s approval you can continue. You may have to reduce the intensity and distance of your runs, but you can keep going as long as you feel comfortable and your pregnancy is progressing normally.

Start slowly, for those who did not exercise regularly before, easing into an exercise routine is one of the most important pregnancy fitness tips to prevent muscle strain. Start with a 5-10 minute workout and then gradually increase the length of workouts by 5 minutes until you get up to 30 minutes.

Stay safe, avoid activities where you could fall, as it is easy to do as your joints loosen and your center of gravity changes. This means no skiing, bike riding (unless stationary) or even step aerobics. Ensure that you are not overexerting yourself, you should be able to carry on a normal conversation, if not you are working yourself too hard.

Hit the pool – one of the best pregnancy fitness exercises is to get wet with an aqua-aerobic program or just swimming some laps. While you may not like picturing yourself with a huge belly in a bathing suit, if you want to stay fit you may just have to grin and bear it. Swimming is easy on the pregnant body as you are more weightless in the water. Not only is it a great cardio workout but swimming also targets all the major muscle groups so you get an all over workout.