What do contractions feel like?

F47 · July 2013

I know, I know.... I'm assuming like nothing I've ever felt before. But, if you had to compare them to something (even something associated with a much more mild pain) what would you say?

I'm a FTM due in Dec. Hoping to go natural and it's hard to prepare yourself for something when you don't know what it feels like at all. A muscle cramp? Period-style cramps? Stabbing pain?

I know this is probably a silly question... thanks for humoring me!

PrincessPeach13 · July 2013

Before they broke my water at the hospital, I would describe them as intense period-like cramps thjat got worse in intensity over time. They were handle-able.

After they broke my water, it felt like terrible stabbing pain inside the center of my abdomen (basically right over my cervix) and I just could not relax through it.

I attribute this to the fact that I wasn't soft enough on my own yet and so my cervix wasn't ready to have that much pressure on it during contractions.

This time, nobody is breaking my water unless I'm already pushing and it hasn't broken on its' own yet.

When you start having real contractions, you will know it pretty soon.

SarahinMD · July 2013

I found the descriptions in Ina May Gaskin's books to be really helpful. I would recommend those. I think how you think about them impacts (at least some) how you experience them or at least how you'd describe them. Also, some have back labor, and it feels pretty different.

aylafsu88 · July 2013

For me contractions felt like really intense period cramps. I actually thought the contraction part was OK and I was able to deal with them. I had back labor along with them which was the worst part. It felt like my back was going to break. Since contractions only last for 1 minute it was manageable. I had my H/doula pour hot water on my back (I labored in the tub on hands and knees) or use counter pressure when I was in triage.

meep13 · July 2013

Not a silly question at all...I was having contractions all night long with my first but didn't realize it because they just felt like period cramps. My water broke about 6:00 am that morning otherwise I probably wouldn't have known I was in labor for awhile. I thought a contraction was supposed to be more of an all over stomach hardening feeling.... my entire labor they felt more or less just like strong period cramps that would come and go...I really wasn't in much pain until I was about 9 cm...

F47 · July 2013

SarahinMD:
I found the descriptions in Ina May Gaskin's books to be really helpful. I would recommend those. I think how you think about them impacts (at least some) how you experience them or at least how you'd describe them. Also, some have back labor, and it feels pretty different.

Thanks for the tip! I've been meaning to get those books - I'll have to do that this week. I think you're right...perception can probably have a LOT to do with it.

barista411 · July 2013

I would say they feel like a combination of really bad period cramps and getting the wind knocked out of you. I have heard that a close equivilant if holdin ice in your hand or submerging your hand in ice water for a minute is similar. I can't say I've tried but if your really curious it may be worth a try.

stever · July 2013

Contractions with DS1 felt like I was being drawn and quartered - I felt it all between my legs.

Contractions with DS2 hurt everywhere. Freaky amounts of pain and it felt like someone was laying on/squeezing my stomach.

imakeeff0rts · July 2013

stever:
Contractions with DS1 felt like I was being drawn and quartered - I felt it all between my legs.

Oh dear God that sounds horrible.

mawarren · July 2013

It's like an intense period cramp but you can also tell it is kind of squeezing and then you can feel when it releases. I felt every contraction in the back and the front.

dmhrn13 · July 2013

I don't know what kind of periods some ladies must have, but for me it did not feel like period cramps at all. My entire abdomen, lower back & hip had an intense squeezing inward pressure. Imagine you are squeezing a balloon with your hands.

Ms Molly · July 2013

Like others said, very intense period cramps that got more intense and longer as time went on. Also with the tightening of the belly and toward the end, a general feeling of discomfort that didnt provide relief between cx.

annabelle.27 · July 2013

With my first, it felt like my bladder was going to explode. I have no other way to describe it. I did feel like it was coming from my bladder and it was a definite outward pressure feeling, not the "tightening" I had been told to expect. It took a good hour for me to realize I was in labour since it was so unexpected. I had been running to the bathroom every 10 minutes, trying desperately to empty my bladder.

oliversmommy32912 · July 2013

It felt like the worst diarrhea pain of my life. In fact until my water broke I was convinced I had eaten something horrible. For me it felt nothing like period cramps.

childtocherish · July 2013

It?s very difficult to describe the contraction pain .It?s something that you have never experienced that kind of pain. After giving birth you will not be able to describe what kind of pain it was. Once the child is born you feel like suddenly you are relaxed. And the most important thing once you see the baby you forget everything.

Sea Conquest · July 2013

I think it is different for everyone. I had srom to start my labor, so I didn't get the early phase period cramps people talk about. In the beginning, they felt like little earthquakes in my body, a tightening that was unmistakable. By active labor, I felt like my insides were being ripped out of me.

indiana101 · July 2013

oliversmommy32912:
It felt like the worst diarrhea pain of my life. In fact until my water broke I was convinced I had eaten something horrible. For me it felt nothing like period cramps.

This exactly. Now every time I get a stomach bug it reminds me of that awful pain but no way near as intense.

nicholssquared · July 2013

I have two categories of contractions: pre-ROM and post-ROM.

Pre-ROM generally feel like gradual tightening across my baby belly. Like my skin is being stretched like a rubber band. They are long and slow, but aren't necessarily painful - I would describe them as 'tight'. Just when I think my belly can't stretch any more, they reach their peak and die down. I mainly just meditate through these.

Post-ROM contractions are very intense. They remind me of gas cramps, which seems pretty docile, but I get really terrible gas cramps that make me feel like my intestines are about to rupture. They are shorter, but come closer together, and I would definitely consider these to be painful. For pain management, I breathe deeply in through my nose, out through my mouth, squeeze something with both hands, and I like to bear down a little bit (even if I'm not strictly supposed to).

Luckily for me, my membranes are tough, and generally have to be artificially ruptured at about 9 cm - the bag of water is bulging out and preventing effective dilation to 10 cm. So I only have to deal with the intense ones for like an hour. I will tell you, that hour is a b!tch, though.

sschwege · July 2013

I never had the period cramps in labor that some women talk about. Basically to me contractions felt like an intense tightening of my stomach coupled with moderate back pain. It came in waves, so it would start, build, peak, then wash away. I felt focused between contractions, but pretty good physically. As labor progressed the breaks got shorter and the contractions more intense. Toward the very end I would also feel pressure with the contractions.

Everyone is different and perhaps it was the Hypnobirthing influence, but I wouldn't describe labor as true pain. Uncomfortable, intense, requiring all my focus, but not the same as stubbing your toe, breaking a bone, etc. I had pretty bad sciatic nerve pain before DD was born and I remember thinking, "If labor is this bad, I'm getting an epi!" Well it never came to that, it's just different

kali55 · July 2013

I had a lot of people describe them to me like period cramps, but I didn't find that was the case for me. The first contractions were not exactly painful for me and even as they started to get more intense, I found I could get through them while in the bathtub with warm shower water on my back.

The only way I could describe it would be an all encompassing pain. You know when you have an orgasm and you are totally in the moment and you feel it everywhere, a contraction for me was the total body feeling of an orgasm, but so painful that there was nothing but the contraction in that moment.

JJ_13 · July 2013

Mine were mind-alteringly painful, non-stop, searing pain throughout my abdomen, back and crotch. Little to no break in between them. For 8 hours straight.

But, I blame the Pitocin. Most people I've talked to who didn't get induced (which I had to do for what-appeared-to-be-legit-medical-reasons but were later disproven..ugh) describe them more as bad period cramps of increasing intensity.

I'm hoping that next time around (if there is one), I can avoid the Pitocin. I know I could do the Pitocin-but-no-epidural route if I have to, but man, I sure hope never to do that again.

stever · July 2013

imakeeff0rts:
stever:
Contractions with DS1 felt like I was being drawn and quartered - I felt it all between my legs.

Oh dear God that sounds horrible.

It actually wasn't that bad, not as bad as the contractions with DS2 anyway. It was just different than I was expecting.

Haley.Beth · July 2013

I have experienced two very different labors and two very different types of contractions.

With #1, it was a 22 hour labor induced with pitocin. The early contractions felt like I was being constricted by a huge blood pressure cuff...my entire abdomen tensed up, taking away my breath. This got increasingly painful as labor progressed, but were pretty consistent. By transition, though, it was getting so tight I felt like I could explode. The pressure was horrible.

With #2, it was a completely natural crazy fast 3.5 hour labor. This time, I didn't even think I was in labor because it felt like strong menstrual cramps that faded in and out, and I kept expecting to feel contractions like I had with #1. They went pretty quickly from a dull achey pain very low down to a sharp constricting pain, but it stayed low on my abdomen.

oliversmommy32912 · July 2013

indiana101 said:

oliversmommy32912:
It felt like the worst diarrhea pain of my life. In fact until my water broke I was convinced I had eaten something horrible. For me it felt nothing like period cramps.
This exactly. Now every time I get a stomach bug it reminds me of that awful pain but no way near as intense.

Me too! Every time I get a bug I think to myself "How the HELL did you labor!?" because it reminds me of contraction pain.

mlrafiki · July 2013

I had two different types of pain in labor: before my rapid progression, I had about 8 hours of what felt like strong period cramps. They started out pretty short and light, and gradually became strong enough that I had to really focus on breathing through every one. I found them pretty manageable because of the break between them, whereas a few weeks earlier, I'd had a kidney infection and possible kidney stones that gave me NO relief at all, so that was WAY worse pain.

When I suddenly progressed from 2.5cm to 8cm, the pain changed to a startling pressure. It seriously felt like the baby was going to tear himself out of my vagina, and I could feel my cervix really contracting hard. When my water broke, it was like an explosion, very painful, but it also provided a little relief from the pressure. I never felt the ring of fire.

bleusimp · July 2013

Really great question with really great answers! I already have the lower back ache with mild period like cramping, but have been having that on and off for 3 weeks. I've also been dilated for 3 weeks. Since I have to call my mom (2 hours away), and my boyfriend (3 hours away) I keep wondering if I will know for sure and be able to call in time.

ellebee2 · July 2013

childtocherish said:

It?s very difficult to describe the contraction pain .It?s something that you have never experienced that kind of pain. After giving birth you will not be able to describe what kind of pain it was. Once the child is born you feel like suddenly you are relaxed. And the most important thing once you see the baby you forget everything.

This. Exactly.

If I had to try - I would say it was a gradual tightening, getting more and more intense over time. Near the end I definitely felt winded / like I had been kicked in the stomach.

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