what do bh contractions feel like?

[SunChild]

I don't know if these are contractions or not..

Tonight i've had mild sensations coming every ten minutes. They don't hurt at all. It feels the same as the day before my period. Just a light cramping sensation, not unpleasant at all.

It's midnight here thats why i'm asking you otherwise I would call my MW but will have to wait until tomorrow.

[sagira]

The thing about real labor is that contractions have to become longer, stronger and closer together. If you change positions or take a shower and they disappear, it's not real labor, just Braxton Hicks. Keep monitoring.

Of course if you experience any vaginal bleeding, leaking or gushing from your vagina (rupture of membranes) or severe pain, call your MW immediately.

Good luck!

[SunChild]

Yep sorry I should have clairified, I'm not thinking it's labor, just braxton hicks... just didn't know if braxton hicks were meant to hurt or not...I feel something it just doesnt hurt.

[Cujobunny]

Sometimes they hurt sometimes they don't. With my first I believe I had some in the last week of my pregnancy but they didn't hurt at all, just felt tight if I put my hand on my belly. This time, they are stronger and painful about 50% of the time.

[pookel]

The thing a lot of people don't get is that there is really no clear dividing line between "real" labor and false labor. A contraction is a contraction. Sometimes "real" labor starts with painful contractions that are far apart and get closer - in my case it started with painless but regular contractions that got more painful but not closer together.

If they're regular, don't ease up when you lie down and relax, and especially if they start getting more and more painful, it's probably the beginnings of labor. But ... maybe not.

[sagira]

Ah, in that case I get the painless Braxton Hicks too -- my whole abdomen gets tight but not painful I get them once in a while. I'm a childbirth educator, that's where I get the "longer, stronger and closer together" from, from my curriculum :

[SeekingJoy]

Originally Posted by pookel

If they're regular, don't ease up when you lie down and relax, and especially if they start getting more and more painful, it's probably the beginnings of labor. But ... maybe not.

I am so experiencing the "or maybe not" part.

They were so strong this afternoon (after being up running errands and then running after DS) that I was getting grouchy. I ended up calling DH home from work, saying "I don't think this is real labor, but I have to concentrate on the contractions and not DS. I need help!" The BH still didn't end up going away until I could sit down and rest for a nice long while.

[pookel]

I'm right there with you. I swear they go away whenever I start timing them. I'll be like, "these must be coming every 3-4 minutes and they hurt!" Then I sit down and start really paying attention, and they slow down, and I'll go 15 minutes without one ... sigh.

[MysteryMama]

this is my 3rd pregnancy and i still am not sure what braxton hicks contractions are supposed to feel like, but i guess im having them. i had to go in for an nst today, and the nurse told me im having contractions. i had no idea.

[eri_flores]

Originally Posted by jeannie81

this is my 3rd pregnancy and i still am not sure what braxton hicks contractions are supposed to feel like, but i guess im having them. i had to go in for an nst today, and the nurse told me im having contractions. i had no idea.

Not feeling them would be nice! My uterus tightens up either all over, feels majorly hard or sometimes just in one spot or another. I get these very funny lumps sometimes where it is contracting in just one spot! But just to echo pps, it's not so much that bh are not "real" but that they are "practice" and can lead to the real thing...or not! And that all women seem to experience them totally differently. Some of mine hurt, some don't. Sometimes it's crampy, sometimes it's just tight. I had a bunch today, one after another after another and I had to lie down for an hour or so before they eased up.

[mama2walden&luna]

Originally Posted by SunChild

I don't know if these are contractions or not..

Tonight i've had mild sensations coming every ten minutes. They don't hurt at all. It feels the same as the day before my period. Just a light cramping sensation, not unpleasant at all.

It's midnight here thats why i'm asking you otherwise I would call my MW but will have to wait until tomorrow.

With my first pregnancy, by BH felt just like mild period cramping. With this pregnancy, they feel like that with tightening as well. And they are not painful for me, just a nuisance.

[plummum]

When I had my NST this week, the nurse told me I was having BH contractions. They are painless and I would have described them as "the baby writhing" -- I thought it was feeling the baby making a large movement in a very confined space.

So now I don't know how to distinguish baby movements from BH contractions! Any suggestions on telling them apart? (All the medical(ish) folks in my life: mw, ob, doula) keep asking me if the baby is much, and I am not sure now what to say!)

[pookel]

I find that, for me anyway, the BH contrax make my belly feel tight if I put my hand on it, whereas when it's just the baby moving, it's more wriggly (and it's soft in the areas where the baby isn't). The BH contrax make my belly one smooth, round, hard lump.

[danotoyou2]

BH ctx are the devil!

I've been having painful contractions all evening, about 7 minutes apart. I checked my cervix, and it's still closed, so I don't think they're doing much... but man, these are a pain!

Plus, DH 'needs his sleep' so I'm stuck with DS until he decides it's time to sleep... it's already after midnight and he's still awake. Ugh.

I don't want these to turn into 'the real thing.' The start of my birth kit doesn't even arrive until tomorrow! The UPS guy would be in for a shock to see us tearing into that package before he even got it to the door. :

[TwoPlusTwins]

Mine can REALLY hurt! Sometimes I can barely walk through them and I've had drug free births twice! They don't hurt as badly as regular labor cx but they are no picnic either! My uterus gets ROCK hard too.. there is no mistaking them, that's for sure

[clancybaby]

i've had bh contractons for at least the last 2 mos but my cervix is still long and closed. definitely for me they don't hurt, per se, but like some others say they cause my entire abdomen to become very firm and they can be quite annoying. if you have to pee at all that can be misery too. if they are bothering you, try to relax completely when they come. hopefully sit down and concentrate on relaxing your belly and do some slow belly breathing. i find it really helps to make them more comfortable and then they pass.

doing too much and being too active can bring them on. mine are always worse in the evening and at night. also making sure to be very well hydrated (drink water, not tea or soda etc) can help.

i didn't notice one single bh contraction during my first pg, but this time around its been a totally different experience.

good luck.