What do contractions feel like?

Question

Would you describe contractions as feeling like period cramps? Sometimes I just can’t tell if I’m having a contraction or if I have to use the bathroom

Answer

My doc made it very clear to never refer to anything as “Braxton Hicks Contractions” because this makes us think that some are real while others are not. All contractions are real contractions, but not all contractions lead to labor and delivery. 
Braxton hicks as we know them are the beginning practice ones. The stomach tightens, gets hard, can have some discomfort, and they move on. As the body gets closer to labor, they get more intense. Period cramping, bearing down feeling, need to change positions, and sometimes even a pressure on the cervix. 
All are contractions! The thing to lookout for is the 411 rule.
They come fast and hard. 4 minutes apart, lasting one minute, for at least an hour. At that point, you are in labor and it’s time to go to the hospital! 
Something my doc said to me that really helped is this. The cervix is a tight muscle. It doesn’t want to dilate, it wants to keep everything nice and snug. You have to have strong, quick, close contractions to force that cervix to open. The pressure has to be consistent enough to make that cervix go against its nature. 
So no matter how strong they get (and they can get strong!) the key is to watch for a pattern that is going to make that cervix open(:

Answer

I’ve been having mostly contractions in my back.. it feels like you’ve been washing dishes for hours and you finally sit down and you back just seizes from all the pain. Then it wraps around to the front and my stomach gets really hard and tight. That’s the best way I can think of how to describe it. I’m having a slow labor (contractions on and off for the last week, currently 2cm and 50% effaced)

Answer

The start contractions feel like mild period pains yes, but they have consistency. They will last up to a minute long and come every 2/3/5 minutes in between each pain. Braxton Hicks can mimic contractions, mines certainly do but they stop eventually, contractions won’t!

Answer

So when they say you know.... you will know. I got what I thought was a regular braxton hicks just tightening.  But then instead of it stopping in the middle of my stomach and not hurting it went lower. It got tight all the way down to my public bone and felt like burning on the inside and the pain radiated to my thighs... im a FTM and was told today my body is going into slow labor. I'm 2CM and 30% effaced and get contractions that are regular for a hour and then they stop and then they start again a few hours later. It does feel like period cramps but more like a burning and mine went to my back and thighs and had me pushing my butt off the bed bc the pressure was real.

Answer

Mine started like bad period cramps/bad poop pains. Like when your belly starts hurting and you know it’s going to be a bad poop lol that’s the only way I can describe it. And each one just gets worse and worse.

Answer

From my experience (just gave birth monday) yes, mine felt like my usual period cramps. I will say however my regular period is bad, no medicine can help the pain. But having experienced a fast progressing labor; I was comparing my contractions initially to period cramps. They did ramp up to eventually being way worse though

Answer

Braxton Hicks times 100 for me.
I could not walk or talk through mine.
I would have to stop and breathe through them.
Started at the bottom and crept up to the top of my stomach where it would get the tightest. 
They were not enjoyable.

What do contractions feel like?

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