US Women's Open golfer who's seven months pregnant forced to stop mid-round after feeling contractions

All eyes fell onto Madelene Sagstrom as she rocked up to the US Women's Open last week, brandishing a sizeable, seven-month baby bump.

Despite being two months away from full-term, concerns had previously been raised for the safety of the 33-year-old, who is pregnant with her first child.

Refusing to sit out the prestigious tournament, however, Sagstrom - the 73rd-ranked player in the world - made her way around 18 holes on Thursday (4 Jun) at Riviera Country Club.

Just moments before she was set to complete her first round, however, panic suddenly set in for the Swedish star. Pain quickly travelled up from Sagstrom's lower abdomen, forcing her to stop in her tracks.

In awe-inspiring footage that has since gone viral online, the sportswoman is seen taking a number of deep breaths while looking to her caddie, seemingly struggling to remain fully erect.

Sagstrom is seven months pregnant (David Cannon/Getty Images)

Little did the crowd know at the time that Sagstrom had actually been battling agonising contractions for the last few holes, but hadn't wanted to alarm organisers or be forced to forfeit play.

Thankfully, she hadn't been going into early labour.

The discomforting cramps through her pelvis and abdomen were actually Braxton Hicks contractions - a form of pre-contraction common in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Usually, they're irregular, short, and painless, and serve to tone the uterine muscles of the pregnant person, rather than dilate their cervix. In some cases, however, including Sagstrom's, Braxton Hicks contractions can prove seriously painful.

She completed the round, despite the pain (Ryan Sirius Sun/Getty Images)

Speaking to the press following the round's conclusion, the golfer - who is expecting a baby boy with her PGA caddie husband, Jack Clarke - claimed there was no question that she'd compete this week.

"[Golf] gives me a reason to wake up in the morning," she claimed. "To go to the golf course, to play. I’ve been playing well, beating my friends at home, so I’m like, why not try, you know?"

That isn't to say that practice has been easy, she added.

"Unless you are pregnant yourself or have kids, you don’t realise how hard it is," Sagstrom confessed. "And I don’t think I realised it either. I mean, beginning of the year — when I found out I was pregnant — I’m like, I’m gonna do this, this, this and this. And then it hits you hard."

The golfer began experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions (David Cannon/Getty Images)

"But it’s kind of fun to test the boundaries. Like, what can I do? Can I actually figure this out?"

She also claimed her family's incoming addition had been 'rearranging his bedroom' ahead of the tournament, mostly while his mother had been attempting to get some shut-eye.

"That was the first time I could really feel like he’s getting bigger," Sagstrom joked.