[octobermoon]

i'm not sure what this may feel like? it seems women do experience it differently. where do you feel it? how much does it hurt, is it always the same feeling, how does this differ from braxton hicks (i've heard some feel cramps w/BH) ?

 

[JamieCatheryn]

Round ligament pains for me feel like sharp stretching pains that are pretty fleeting, located at the bottom of my belly over to the sides some. I mostly got those early in the pregnancy. Contractions are tightening of the muscle all over the uterus or more on top, if I poke my belly during one it's all tense, in some positions I don't feel them but if I walk during one it hurts, sometimes they come with a low backache too.

 

[Brisen]

It's a sharp pain, kind of sharp/muscle burn/pinchy for me, localized, always off to the sides. It usually happens in reaction so something -- like if I sneeze, or suddenly stand up, or roll over funny in bed. BHs for me are a tightening all over, my whole uterus feels hard. A real contraction feels a lot like a menstrual cramp, along with the tightening of a BH.

 

[KarlaC]

Depending on what I'm doing my ligament pain is usually really sharp & burns on the sides of my uterus or if I climb in & out of the truck wrong I'll get sharp, searing pains that come & go really fast for 2-3 minutes from just above the pubic bone & to the left & right of it..up the uterus. Nothing much makes them go away but time.

Eta: Bh are usually just tight & uncomfy feeling on my stomach & sides. Goes away when I relax & lie down.

 

[octobermoon]

so why do i feel a little crampy sometimes???

 

[Brisen]

I guess it depends on what kind of crampy you're feeling... different women feel things differently. I get mild crampiness with lower back ache at the beginning of my pregnancies, similar to just before or during my period. It's very different from an actual contraction in or near labour, but both have a crampiness in common that, for me, a BH doesn't have. I wouldn't describe a BH as painful, my uterus just gets very firm and I feel pressure.

 

[Llyra]

For me, ligament pain came in two varieties:
1. the sharp stabbing pains already described, when I changed positions or moved suddenly, or coughed or sneezed

and

2. a dull ache, sometimes mild and sometimes really NOT mild, in my entire hip/pelvic/crotch region, usually at the end of the day or after I'd been on my feet too long-- sometimes on one side or in one area, sometimes in another

The second kind of pain seemed to be just when the muscles and ligaments and all that got TIRED supporting my uterus. I could distinguish those from actual contractions because my uterus would stay soft. A contraction causes the belly to get hard and tight-- if you put your hand on your bump, you'll feel it harden. A contraction comes and goes, but that second kind of ligament pain was constant. A BH contraction for me never came with any pain. When they hurt, for me, they were dilating my cervix (I had preterm labor with all my kids).

I used to get really alarmed about the pain, because nobody ever mentioned it, not in all the pregnancy books. You hear about the sharp pains, but not so much the achiness.

I found that just getting off my feet for awhile made it go away. When it got really nagging, I'd try to go swimming-- deep water will take the weight of the uterus, and give the poor aching ligaments a rest.