Braxton Hicks??

[willowe]

Hi All,
I am currently 34 1/2 weeks along with my first and was wondering when (or if) the Braxton Hicks (practice contractions) are supposed to start? I'm not aware of having had any and I guess not every woman experiences them, but was wondering whether I would know the difference between Braxton Hicks and REAL labour!! A few women have told me they went to hospital with what they thought was labour pain, only to be sent home again being told it was Braxton's. I know there are sure signs that you are in labour as opposed to having practice contractions (ie waters breaking), but a couple of my friend's water didn't actually break until the baby popped out.
Can you tell I'm getting nervous, LOL!!
Thanks for any advice!

Kaz.
Today Is The Tomorrow We Worried About Yesterday And All Is Well.

 

[Beets]

Hi Kaz,
I am 32 weeks pregnant at this point and am experiencing what I believe to be Braxton-Hicks contractions at this point. My lower abdomen gets really tight for a minute or so then subsides and then kicks up again. The main thing with Braxton's versus the real thing is that Braxton contractions will go away when you change your activity and they are irregular in pattern. My childbirth education pamphlet says you should notify your doctor if you experience 5 or more contractions in an hour if you are earlier than 37 weeks pregnant.

 

[rockette]

My Braxton Hicks felt like a tightening in my abdominal area. As for the real thing...I was totally unprepared for how my real contractions felt.I was assuming they would feel like the braxton hicks only stronger. For me, with both of my kids real contractions were felt more as a tightening in my pubic area. With my first, didn't even know that they were contractions because they felt soooo different from Braxton HIcks. So for me Braxton Hicks and real contractions were felt in different areas even though with the real thing I did have a tightening of the abs(just didn't feel it there!)

 

[Bernard]

Hi Kaz,

Braxton Hicks are quite unnoticeable during a first pregnancy, even as you get near to the last weeks. However, subsequent pregnancies, well that is a different story, they get more intense with each baby that you have. I only had one bout of Braxton Hicks contractions with my first pregnancy, and it happenned about a week and a half before the real thing took place. They went on for 4 1/2 hours, in the end I fell asleep and they went. Thank goodness, the weather that night was appalling, wind, rain, thunder and lightning. My Midwife told me that you can sleep through Braxton Hicks, but you can't sleep through the real thing, and it is very true ! Quite often a warm bath will put an end to the Braxton Hicks, yet a warm bath won't put an end to real contractions.
Whenever I got Braxton Hicks, I just phoned my labour suite, and they re-assured me, told me to take a warm bath, and to try and sleep.
Basically, the Braxton Hicks contraction makes your bump tense, and tight, and hard for a few seconds and then it relaxes, I wouldn't say they were painful, more uncomfortable. Labour pains, on the other hand, start off a bit like this but they unfortunately get progressively worse (unless your waters go first, in which case it can take up to 24 hours or more to develop any labour contractions in some cases, not all).

But don't worry Kaz !

And yes, waters breaking, mmm, this happenned to me with my first pregnancy. I was lying in bed and I could hear scratching in the roof above our bedroom, it was probably just birds, but I feared the worse (mice, eeek !), and I lay there getting stressed, tried to talk to Dh about it, he snapped at me because he was tired, so I got out of bed. Baby was restless because I was, so I sat on the sofa, contemplating what to do about the scratching noises (should I send the cats up in the roof to have a look around for me). Baby was incredibly restless, then all of a sudden, they went, my waters gushed everywhere, all over my newly professionally cleaned carpets, I was not amused. It took another 20 hours for my contractions to get going, and subsequently had backache labour, which is another story. With my second labour, my waters had to be broken prior to the second stage of labour, and with my third, they went naturally with an almighty huge contraction, which made baby fall straight through my pelvis (I was stood up at the time, and I still don't know how I got on the bed ?), my Midwife was about to get me to deliver standing up, as things went so quickly. So waters going can vary so much. A show can happen up to 2 weeks before baby is born, again its not reliable either.

Labour is a funny old time........the important thing is to relax, and stay in control

Hope this has been of some use !

Take Care !
Anna

 

[tryin2bfit]

Hi Kaz,

You've gotten some great advice already, so I'll just add my experience. I'm 34 weeks along with my fourth and experience Braxton Hicks very regularly and have for several weeks. They are a real tightening of the uterus and can feel quite uncomfortable, but don't last long. I don't think I had them much during my first pregnancy, though.

Labour contractions are much more intense, pain-wise, and feel more like menstrual cramps throughout the lower abdomin and back. I remember timing my contractions with my first and had my Mom there rubbing my lower back through each one (it helped). They stayed regular and increased in frequency until I finally went to the hospital, where I was told "nothing was happening" and to go home and rest! I ended up back at the hospital that night and had my daughter - 19 hours total labour. With this being my fourth, I think I'll go to hospital at first contraction!

I've had to have my water broken each pregnancy, and this really speeded up the birthing process for me. But each time, no matter how painful it may have been, holding that baby in your arms is worth anything in the world!

Sandi

 

[tchersue]

I can only tell you what I experienced... earlier BH (the last 2 mos. with #1, the last 3 mos. with #2) contractions felt like just a tightening... no pain... like your skin suddenly got sort of hard around the baby. The closer I got to my due date, those BH had the teensiest bit of a bite to them... not really painful, but they got my attention.

With #1, before I had recognizable contractions that I could time, I had several hours of menstrual type back pain and a bad case of the runs. The early contractions were similar to BH, but they almost immediately had a recognizable peak to them... like tight, tighter, tighter, really tight, ouch, really tight, tighter, tight, ahhhh... all over! LOL As they progressed, it was more like tight,tighter, tighter, tighter, little ouch, bigger ouch, ouch-ouch-ouch, smaller ouch, smaller ouch, tight, tight, ahhh... LOL...

You might have to stop with a BH for a second or two, but they don't typically cause you more than a few seconds of attention... also, they even if you have several in a row, they don't typically become more and more intense... they'll subside if you lie on your left side, for instance, whereas a real contraction will feel worse if you lie around.

With #2, my first contraction was immediately painful and 45 seconds long... and they were also immediately a minute and a half apart (with #1, I sometimes had 7 or even 10 minutes between early contractions...). Within an hour we were calling the hospital and making plans to get out the door. When they stopped my contractions (baby was in distress) 4 or 5 hours later, I was already at 7 cm. and in transition.

Susan

 

[tchersue]

I almost forgot...

... with #2, my contractions were also predominantly in my back, but I also had them in my lower abdomen and down my thighs.

If your labor comes on fast, you may also feel a bit panicky... my 2nd labor was really fast, and in spite of the fact that I'd had a baby before and thought I knew what was up, I was a little unnerved. This is where a good labor partner comes in (or a doula)... one who can get you focused on the job at hand and onto breathing/relaxation techniques/etc.
susan

 

[Fitnik]

Hard to confuse the 2 for me!

Braxton Hicks for me felt light and comfortable compared to actual contractions which get progressively more painful and closer together. I could barely breathe at the peak of each one. I would be very surprised if anyone could genuinely confuse the 2 - lol!!

Once labour actually starts, just make sure you get the epidural in at about 5cm dilation, Kaz, and you'll be fine!


Your friend in fitness, Fitnik