Home > Women's health > Pelvic pain in women >

Sudden pelvic pain in women

Mamae tāru o te papatoiake

Pelvic pain is pain in the area below your tummy button and above your legs. Sudden, or acute pelvic pain can be caused by many different things.

Important

If you know or think you are pregnant and get sudden pelvic pain, get urgent medical attention. You might have an ectopic pregnancy or you might be having a miscarriage.

Seek urgent medical attention if you have sudden, severe pelvic pain and feel unwell, even if you are not pregnant.

Causes of sudden pelvic pain in women

tummy pain Many things can cause sudden pelvic pain, such as:

pelvic inflammatory disease
appendicitis
ovulation – When your ovaries release eggs once a month, in the middle of your menstrual cycle, you can sometimes feel a sharp, sudden pain when the egg is released.
irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
sexually transmitted infections
a urinary tract infection (UTI)
an ovarian cyst.

Diagnosing causes of sudden pelvic pain

Your doctor will ask you questions about the pain. Including where and when the pain occurs, how severe it is and how long it lasts. They will ask about your past medical history and about any other symptoms. For example, nausea, vomiting, weight loss and fever. They will examine you and may perform an pelvic examination.

Your doctor may ask for a urine sample to check for infection. If you have not yet reached menopause, you will have a pregnancy test. If it is possible that you have a sexually transmitted infection (STI), you may need to have some swabs to check for these. You may also need a blood test to check for infection.

Sometimes you might need an ultrasound scan of your pelvis.

Despite all these tests, doctors will sometimes not be able to find out what has caused your pain.

Treating sudden pelvic pain

The treatment will depend on the cause of the pain. Your doctor will talk to you about this.

On the next page: Long-lasting pelvic pain in women

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed January 2025.

Sources

See also:

Understanding your vaginal swab results

Page reference: 278866

Review key: HIPPA-13407