Labor Pains or Constipation?

mumistheword · March 2016

Okay, so I tried searching but apparently when you search, Labor Pain vs. Pooping anything with labor pops up. My question is, how do you really know when you are having contractions? I figured they would be crazy painful, but some people have said that it can vary depending on tolerance. Maybe I've watched one too many episode of "I didn't know I was pregnant", but I have been feeling like I have to use the bathroom all day and have found absolutely no relief. I guess my question is are there any stm's that had labor pains that they felt were similar to having to go to the bathroom? Can you have labor contractions without having your water break?

mrstrax · March 2016

You can definitely have contractions without your water breaking. I get what you mean though - it can be so hard to tell what is BH, what is gas/GI and what are real contractions. The biggest difference for me is that I can touch my uterus and it's super hard and round, like poking a bowling ball.

skc040512 · March 2016

I was trying to do the same search yesterday, and had the same problem...mine was really more like a ton of intestinal pressure, like when you've got a stomach bug but haven't been able to go for a while. I looked on my doctor's website and they did say to call into a nurse line if you were experiencing any kind of intestinal pain with or without diarrhea. I called, and was pretty much just told to go lay down for 1-2 hours and try to drink as much water as possible. By hour 1, I was in more pain than I started with, but by the end of hour 2, I was back to normal. My doctor said it can sometimes be stress/BH/dehydration combined.

All that to say, if it keeps up, you might want to call your doctor just to make sure everything is good to go!

Goldsgirl9 · March 2016

In my experience, mine were like menstrual cramps that would wrap around my back. They started far apart and became rhythmic which is when I finally realized they were contractions so I started timing them.

Monicagail1 · March 2016

Goldsgirl9 said:

In my experience, mine were like menstrual cramps that would wrap around my back. They started far apart and became rhythmic which is when I finally realized they were contractions so I started timing them.

This. Although mine were also paired with some bloody discharge, so that kind of forced me to pay attention

wildtot · March 2016

Mine also usually start with my back aching a bit, entire uterus gets hard, cramping and I feel out of breath sometimes.

shani12345 · March 2016

I have what you are describing about once to twice a day and usually when I have over-exerted myself. I also thought they were constructions but woke up the next morning good as new.
Contractions not constructions!

MrsZko · March 2016

Contractions or even BH will come and go and in my experience are nothing like feeling like I have to use the washroom. To me, that would seem like a constant cramp. Contractions for me also wrap around from the bottom to the top of my uterus. They will also take my breath away or make me feel like my heart rate is elevated.

rebelone · March 2016

Contractions eventually go in a pattern and no matter what you do like lay down, drink water, etc., it won't ease up like it would for BH.

korpatch · March 2016

I get the crampy intestinal feeling quite often... I think it's when the kid is sitting on then... I usually do some back stretches on my hands and knees and they go away... As to Braxton hicks... I have soooo many all the time... Now they even come with wonderful increased pressure head aches. Dr told me to call if I have 5 patterned contractions lasting 1 minute in 1 hour...

shani12345 · March 2016

I also get the pressure headaches with those contractions!! very weird!

brie_and_almonds · March 2016

Last time, for me, there was a pretty distinct difference between BH and actual labor. I really felt the labor contractions in my back and radiating down in my thighs/femurs, which really surprised me.

korpatch · March 2016

Oh! Looking forward to that!

rschenck14 · March 2016

I will be honest with you, this has always been something I just don't understand (labor pains). So with DD1, I never really knew of BH or contractions and when I was hooked up in L&D and on my second round of pitocin and still could not tell labor contractions (I felt crappy, but could never really tell that they were labor pains). I have never been one to experience menstrual cramps either (if I have I just never noticed). Now back pain I can relate to and I can definitely tell you what back labor feels like (felt like my back was breaking in half and the pain radiated all the way up to my neck and that was with an epidural). After 44 hrs I ended up having a c section and I never really got dilated past 4CM, so maybe this is why I have no clue what contractions feel like.

With DD2, I feel the baby moving and then I kind of feel stuff here and there, but I honestly have no idea whats going on. I feel things down in the cervix/vagina area, I feel things around my back, I feel things in my uterus. None of it is horribly painful, just kind of comfortable and annoying at times.

Everyone, including the doctors, though said when you go into labor you will know though. I just think everyone feels things differently and I can certainly bet they describe it differently as well.

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