is this a contraction?

[onyxravnos]

So my son was a planed c/s @ 37 weeks due to a birth defect so i never had any contractions at all so this is all new to me.

Yesterday midwife checked me, baby high, 1 cm dilated 60% effaced. she stuck her finger in my cervix to stretch it a little but didn't sweep the membranes or anything. Since then i've been having frequent but sporadic _______ (?) (it feels like when she was stretching my cervix but it isn't tightening my abdominal muscles at all defiantly only in my cervix. )

is this a contraction? is this something else?

[sanguine_speed]

I have heard that women experience contractions differently, so I suppose it could be. But, most women will probably tell you that you'll know if you're having contractions, or at least you'll find out when they become "active labour". Rare is the woman who pops out a baby without knowing she was having contractions (though it can happen, I hear!). Perhaps it could be plain old cervical pressure or your body reacting to what your midwife did. BTW, why did she do that?

[MammaB21]

For me, contractions felt just like period cramps. They got more intense as labor progressed, but they ALWAYS had the same feeling as regular cramps and in the same spot. BH were more of a tightening of the muscles and all around the belly. What your experiencing sounds more like cervical irritations to me. It could very well be that the 'stretching' your midwife did just agrivated things a bit and you're experiencing some pain from it. Or, it could mean baby is moving down. The last week or so of my pregnancy it felt like DD was poking a finger in my cervix....hahaha. But it was her head putting pressure there that was causing a sharp pain in my cervix.

[onyxravnos]

i've actually never had menstrual cramps

she stretched it a bit because i'm pushing 42 weeks and she wanted to see if she could help things along a little without actually sweeping the membranes or something more dramatic. it wasn't painful at the time she did it, more like the uncomfy-ness you get when you get a pap smear (although took longer then a pap)

it's definitely something that requires my attention when it happens but it could totally be just my cervix contracting a little because of what she did rather then any kind of labor.

[MammaB21]

Originally Posted by onyxravnos

i've actually never had menstrual cramps

Lucky!!!

Is it a constant pain, or does it come and go? I would assume you would feel a contraction in your lower abdomen rather than in your cervix. But than again, having never experienced menstrual cramps, it's hard to say how you would relate the pain. Everyone is different. But like a PP stated, typically women can tell when in actual labor. Good luck!!! Hope the LO decides to make an appearance soon.

[StrawberryFields]

Hmmm, contractions don't really feel like menstrual cramps to me. They kind of feel like a real strong bearing down on my cervix. Accompanied by tightening in my abdomen and/or back pain, but for me the "main stage" feeling is the feeling that something is trying to, well, come barreling out of me