It's possible to have sensations that feel like a baby kicking when you aren't pregnant. Several normal movements in a woman's body can mimic a baby's kicks. This includes gas, muscle contractions, and peristalsis—the wave-like motions of intestinal digestion. Women often refer to the sensation as phantom kicks.
Even if you have never conceived, you can still feel those unexplained baby kicks. The jury is still out on what causes this phenomenon. It could be the result of a little gas, intestinal rumbling, or even uterine irritation. It is not something to panic about and usually goes away on its own.
Digestion. When you eat, the muscles in your digestive tract start moving to bring food through your stomach and into your intestines. You may feel these muscles moving immediately after you eat or even a few hours later.
GERD is the main cause of stomach spasms, but they can also be caused by peptic ulcers, celiac disease, gluten intolerance, bacterial or viral gastroenteritis, or food poisoning. Treatments include GERD medications, avoiding certain foods, taking antacids, or surgery.
Connective tissue disorders can trigger tight pelvic floor muscles and spasms in your pelvic area. Lifestyle issues such as high-intensity exercise, lifting heavy objects, straining from constipation, and obesity can put extra pressure on your pelvic floor, leading to muscle spasms.
The blood vessels surrounding your stomach and intestines constrict and the digestive muscles contract. It's that drop in blood flow that makes you feel like winged insects are fluttering around in your stomach.
Like any other muscles in the body, your abdominal muscles can have spasms. These occur from muscle strain during heavy use or overuse, fatigue, dehydration, and alcohol or drug use. Abdominal muscle strain is a common injury among athletes and can cause muscle spasms. Abdominal spasm can also occur during pregnancy.
It's normal to feel your pulse in your stomach. What you're picking up on is your pulse in your abdominal aorta. The aorta is the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. It runs from your heart, down the center of your chest, and into your abdomen.
Stomach spasms are contractions of your abdominal muscles (abs), stomach, or intestines. Depending on which part of your body is spasming and how badly, it might feel like either a slight muscle twitch or stomach cramps.
It might be as simple as eating too much too fast, or you could have a food intolerance or other condition that causes gas and digestive contents to build up. Your menstrual cycle is another common cause of temporary bloating. Sometimes a bloated stomach can indicate a more serious medical condition.
Some women can feel their baby move as early as 15 weeks, while others don't notice it until closer to 20 to 22 weeks. It varies for each person and depends on a number of factors. There's no difference in the health of a baby whose movements are felt sooner rather than later.
It's most common to notice any feelings of baby movement (quickening if it's the first time) in your lower abdomen, close to the pubic bone. If you have any questions, talk to your healthcare provider about what to anticipate with early fetal movement.
Stretching of the uterus
During the first weeks of pregnancy, you likely won't notice your uterus growing or expanding. But by the 12th week, your uterus stretches and grows to about the size of a grapefruit. If you're pregnant with twins or multiples, you may feel your uterus stretching sooner.
Baby flutters occur when a pregnant woman feels the movement of the fetus. For the first 18 to 20 weeks, a woman is not likely to feel any fetal movement. During the early stages of pregnancy, the fetus is not big or strong enough to make noticeable movements.