Abdominal Pain in Pregnancy: Diagnoses and Imaging Unique to Pregnancy-Review

Objective Abdominal pain during pregnancy can be caused by a wide variety of diseases including disorders of the obstetric, gynecologic, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, genitourinary, and vascular systems. Some causes are unique to pregnancy, are exacerbated by pregnancy, or require an altered imaging algorithm for diagnosis during pregnancy. The educational objectives of this review article are for the participant to exercise, self-assess, and improve his or her understanding of the imaging evaluation of abdominal pain during pregnancy. Conclusion This article reviews the causes of abdominal pain that are unique to pregnancy as well as some of the more common and severe causes of abdominal pain in which the imaging workup differs in the pregnant population. The relative advantages of using ultrasound, CT, and MRI to help establish the cause of the pain are also reviewed.