A:
A "nervous stomach" usually refers to how someone reacts to anxiety or stress in their life, and not to a specific disease of the stomach.
Try to pay attention to your daughter's stomachaches and look for patterns. For example:
- Where exactly does the pain occur? Is it always in the same place?
- Is it a dull pain or a sharp one?
- How often do these pains occur and how long have they been a problem?
- Do these aches come only when she is worried about something, such as a test at school?
- Do the aches only happen after she eats certain types of foods?
- Is she taking any medication?
- Does she tend to get the aches after going without food or after eating a large meal?
- Does she diarrhea or constipation with the aches?
Ask your daughter how things are going at school or in any activities she is a part of. Something could be causing her to worry a lot.
Many children often have belly aches. Since your daughter is having frequent ones, the best thing would be to have her checked by her pediatrician.
Many things could cause your daughter's stomach pain. Your pediatrician can help you figure out what is happening and how to prevent it or make it better when it does happen.
Henry H. Bernstein, D.O., is a senior lecturer in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. In addition, he is chief of General Academic Pediatrics at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth and professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School. He is the former associate chief of General Pediatrics and director of Primary Care at Children's Hospital Boston. 
