What Causes Swelling In Lower Abdomen And Reduced Menstruation?

Posted on Fri, 24 Apr 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 24 Apr 2015 Answered on

Thu, 14 May 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi. my wife is 31 yrs old.her menstrual cycle was regular after marriage for 3-4 days.I am having 2yrs old baby.From last 6-7 months her M.C. cycle last for1- 2 days & blood flow is also decrease.Her lower abdomen is increase in size or you can say looks like ballon fill with air.Is it possible blood ,blood tissue and other material that is present in uterus before M.C. doesn't come out completely and abdomen looks full & heavy or it is due to extra fat. She visited gynacologist he told that dont worry about how many days you have the cycle but cycle should be regular.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (23 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Not likely to be due to retained blood inside uterus.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for trusting us with your health concern.
The fullness of the lower abdomen after 2 years of childbirth cannot be due to retention of conceptus or menstrual blood inside the uterus. The fullness is likely to be due to lax abdominal muscles after the delivery and abdominal fat.
This can be confirmed after an ultrasound scan of the lower abdomen.
The decrease in bleeding during the periods can be due to anxiety, stress, emotional turbulence, hectic travelling, recent changes in weight, ingestion of hormonal medications or medications that alter the menstrual cycle, anemia, etc.
Polycystic ovaries, hypothyroidism and endometrial pathologies also could cause such a picture.
She needs to get her hemoglobin and thyroid hormone levels evaluated to find out the cause.
Please feel free to discuss further. I will be glad to answer the follow up queries that you have.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Rakhi Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Rakhi-Tayal

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar