How does Braxton Hicks feels like?

Re: How does Braxton Hicks feels like?

• ang7124 member

  December 2014

  Hi, im 35wks with my 5th. I have Braxton Hicks everyday. All i can say is they can be very uncomfortable but not very painful. I even talked to my dr yesterday about the backpain iv been geting with them because the backpain for me was out of the norm. He said the back pain is very normal with Braxton Hicks. I remember feeling bad pains when in labor with my 3rd and thought WOW this feels nothing like period cramps lol  its worse. 

  I found out yesterday the contractions have dialated me to 1 and am 50% effaced, not saying labor is around the corner. My cervix is still very high up. But when the real thing starts for you,you will know it. your contractions will get stronger longer and you will beable to time them. I start to get excited when they are 3 to 5 min. apart with pain. and last a good bit inbetween! Hope this helps you understand better  

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• jennypolkadots member

  December 2014

  You can google it to get a better answer but it is just a tightening/cramping in your uterus that doesn't come at regular intervals. Often times they will go away if you drink plenty of water and lay down for a bit. I remember reading that Braxton Hicks are not as common in first time moms. 

  
  

  I am just 30 weeks and haven't had any. I am interested to see what labor will be like since I am going natural and have never had period cramps. I don't think there is any way to know until you're in it, and Braxton Hicks or period cramps aren't a good indicator since they are working towards different goals and labor pains are influenced by your baby's position. Back labor is a tell-tale sign of a posterior baby. Try to find out how your baby is positioned and if posterior start working on turning the baby now to ease pains during labor. The ideal position is anterior (baby faces your spine) and on the left. If your baby is malpositioned, consider seeing a chiropractor who does the Webster Technique and reading about spinning babies. I hope this helps! 

  
  

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• Amstreagle member

  December 2014

  For me it was just a tightening of my entire ute. Not painful just tight.
  I agree with @jennypolkadots‌ about finding out baby's position. I went into labor with ds in posterior position and even with an epidural I had the worst back labor.

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• bhk3 member

  December 2014 edited December 2014

  I asked my doc the exact same question just this morning at my 32 week appointment! I was pretty sure I'd been having BH on and off for the last couple weeks, but none of the descriptions I've read really were accurate to what I was experiencing. She agreed that they can behave very differently from woman to woman.
  
  For example, a lot of the literature describes your belly getting "rock hard". I would qualify mine as being "much harder than usual" during BH, but I definitely not "rock hard". I told my doc that my belly would get hard enough that I couldn't feel any contours of my baby's body like normal and she said that was a very accurate description of BH.
  
  Another thing I read about BH is that they're often uncomfortable, painful or crampy feeling, and mine haven't been thus far. My doctor said that may come in time, or sometimes they don't get painful until you're actually in labor. Also, BH can occur regularly for a few hours and then fade away, or they can just happen randomly depending on the person. So again, tons of variation in how they can present.
  
  When I asked at what point I should worry if I'm having BH more regularly, she advised to call them if the BH were both uncomfortable/painful (not just "tight feeling") AND if they continued regularly for several hours. The painfulness can be related to changes in the cervix and if it continues for that length of time they'd want to make sure baby wasn't trying to make an early appearance.
  
  ETA: This is my first pregnancy as well!
  

  
   

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