Lightning Crotch

What is lightning crotch?

There’s no shortage of discomfort when you’re pregnant, but in the weeks leading up to your due date, you might start to notice sharp, shooting pains that feel like they’re radiating into your vagina.

Commonly called lightning crotch, for obvious reasons, it’s caused by the baby getting into position for delivery and descending into your pelvis. The pain goes away as quickly as it arrives, which means there isn’t much to be done treatment-wise.

What does it feel like?

Women say lightning crotch feels like a sharp, shooting pain around the vagina. It’s often described as a lightning bolt of pain or a quick electric shock. The pain usually goes away quickly.

Main symptoms

• Sharp, random pelvic pain
• Shooting pain
• Electric jolt
• Pain that radiates into the vagina or sometimes down the thigh
• Burning sensation

What causes lightning crotch?

Lightning crotch happens because your baby is getting ready for delivery. In the weeks leading up to your due date, your baby starts to descend into your pelvis. During this process, the baby moves and makes contact with your cervix, which can cause sharp pain. Around this time, your baby may also change positions, putting even more pressure on nerve endings in this area and causing quick bursts of pain.

Another potential cause of lightning crotch is the changing hormones that occur during pregnancy. The hormone relaxin causes the pubic bones to relax and separate (it’s your body’s way of preparing to deliver your baby). This process can make the pelvic bones unstable and misaligned, which can be painful.

Is it bad to have lightning crotch during early pregnancy?

If you experience pain similar to lightning crotch before you are at 37 weeks, you should speak to your doctor.

Other issues, such as a urinary tract infection or preterm labor, can cause a similar pain, but it’s often with other symptoms (burning with urination, having to urinate even more frequently than normal, and hardening of the abdomen, for example). If you have had a Caesarean section in the past and feel sharp pain earlier in your current pregnancy, call your doctor immediately to make sure everything is ok.

Regardless of how far along you are in your pregnancy, always call your doctor if you’re experiencing bleeding, abnormal discharge, severe abdominal pain, or an inability to walk.

Risk factors

All pregnant women are at risk of developing lightning crotch. But some women are more likely to experience it, such as those who have had trauma to their pubic bones, whether from an accident or a prior pregnancy and delivery.

How to relieve the pain

Pain caused by lightning crotch is very sudden and sharp, but it goes away as quickly as it starts. You will probably not need to do anything to treat it. When the pain starts, your body will naturally stop whatever activity you’re doing, which is the best thing you can do.

Preventative tips

There is not much you can do to prevent lightning crotch (except have your baby!), but you can try a few things to make the pain less intense.

• Wear a pregnancy belt/support brace.
• Swim.
• Try chiropractic care.
• Do yoga.