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thread: How would you describe the feeling of a contraction?

  1. #1
    Registered User

    Apr 2008
    4,427

    Question How would you describe the feeling of a contraction?

    I am interested to hear peoples opinions on this. I know a lot of people describe it as intense period pain but am wondering if this.

    I had a few pains tonight that felt like someone had thrown a ball at my lower abdomen and slowly that 'winding' feeling you get (you'll know the one that I mean if you have even had a ball knock the wind out of you because you are a goose that can't catch) took over and then went away.

    I know that "I will just know" I am in labour but thought this could be interesting to hear.

  2. #2
    BellyBelly Member

    Nov 2004
    VIC
    1,794

    hmm
    my cx felt like BH but BH were up high and these were down low in my stomach
    they felt like tightenings- i was lucky they didnt hurt and i just breathed throught them
    they are ver similar to BH but just constant.
    I also felt my cx in my back rather than my front as well- just felt heavy and tight

    i might not be the best to ask as i didnt find my birth painful at all- i know i am a freak lol

  3. #3
    Registered User

    Jul 2006
    6,869

    For me it feels like extremely bad period pain combined with some one twisting my insides really hard.

    Its an ache thats hard to describe....i never thought id know if i was in labour...but you do!

    I have everything crossed that this is the start of things for you....your princess sure is comfy!

  4. #4
    Registered User

    Mar 2007
    6,979

    Good luck Alibaby!! So excited for you..... !!

    My labour pains I would describe as very sharp period pain but like no period pain i'd ever experienced before.... mine came on 5mins apart and quite strong from the very beginning... I thought labour would be all over my tummy but it was just in my lower abdomen for me.

    Good luck & enjoy your labour & birth - such an exciting time

  5. #5
    Registered User

    Mar 2007
    Brisbane
    116

    kinda feels like a wind pain too.. like you really need to well... fart! or go to the loo!

    but they start low pain, peak high and taper off... like a bell curve pain (if you know statistics).

  6. #6
    Registered User

    Oct 2004
    Sydney
    2,614

    I dont get period pain, so I dont know if a contraction feels like period pain...

    but my EARLY conractions felt like my tummy was tightening up, and it started at the bottom of my tummy and sort of travelled up higher till it reached the top of my tummy, then it would go into my back as well. Then it would stop... and start again 2 minutes later!

    Hope that made sense! lol

  7. #7

    May 2008
    Melbourne, Vic
    8,631

    Period pain for me is mostly in my back and that's where it all started for me. The actual contractions felt like tight bands of pain, right down low. I kept expecting they would move up my belly but they never really did!

    I wasn't sure I was in labour until the contractions started building.

    GL hun! Very excited for you! Try and rest tonight!

  8. #8
    paradise lost Guest

    Mine felt like a chinese burn very low down in my belly (where i get period pain, but not very like period pain). It was a round warm feeling for me, not a sharp hot one. I didn't find it particularly painful. Breathtaking, powerful, immense as labour wore on, but never agony.

    Bx

  9. #9
    Registered User

    Nov 2005
    Ontario, Canada
    1,624

    Mine were definitely like period pain. They were in my lower abdomen, low back, hips, and upper thighs. I did recognize them for what they were right away, but then, I never really had much "false labour". The one time I did have false labour (DD3) I could tell the difference - somehow actual labour feels like a working pain. Can't really describe the difference, but I knew when the real thing came! I found it to be a real "achey" pain, deep in the muscles and bones, sort of.
    I have had relatively fast, hard labour (7 hours, 7 hours, and 2 hours) so I do find it pretty painful and overwhelming, but I know it's something I can do, and you just keep in mind that each contraction has an end, and you'll get a little break, and labour isn't going to last forever. Each one brings your baby closer. Relax and breathe your way through it to the best of your ability.

    Hope its coming really soon now for you Alibaby.

  10. #10
    Registered User

    Feb 2007
    In the jungle.
    4,809

    Oooo Ali, i hope this is the start of things for you! Early contractions are often described as period type pain....

  11. #11
    Registered User
    Add Kazbah on Facebook Follow Kazbah On Twitter

    Sep 2006
    Dandy Ranges ;)
    7,526

    Ooooh how exciting, I hope this is it for you Ali!

    I was suprised initially that they weren't agony, I was expecting pain, but it didn't happen like that. It was, for me, a sore back spasm that passed round to the front and ended with a gut pain (like when you are constipated). They started off very mild and I was able to take panadol to not feel them so I could sleep.

    I also wanted to go to the loo.

  12. #12
    Registered User

    Dec 2005
    In Bankworld with Barbara
    14,222

    I think DoubleDee started a thread about this not long ago and there were some great answers in there too - I'll see if I can find it.

    ETA - it was Baby Blip sorry! Here it is https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...tractions.html
    Last edited by Trillian; March 4th, 2009 at 05:56 AM.

  13. #13
    Registered User

    Mar 2008
    Nth West Melbourne
    997

    The best (or perhaps funniest) description of contractions I have ever heard is that they are like period pains on crack.

    Pretty accurate too!!

  14. #14
    Registered User

    Aug 2007
    3,526

    Ooooooo Ali i hope it was contractions for you last night!!!!

  15. #15
    Registered User

    Dec 2005
    In Bankworld with Barbara
    14,222

  16. #16
    Registered User
    Follow Pandora On Twitter

    Jan 2005
    cowtown
    8,276

    mine felt a bit like period cramps.

    det - you should be the person to ask because birth shouldnt be painful for most people. Muscles contract and relax all the time in our body, these ones we're just not used to the feeling and are often led to believe will be excruciatingly painful when in fact its not like that for everyone.
    And if it can be not painful for you, then surely it can be not painful for others. I remember mine was being painful but i think the fact I losr complete focus and some other factors surroundng my birth with DS layed a part in that as well.

  17. #17
    2013 BellyBelly RAK Recipient.

    May 2007
    Brisbane
    5,310

    Mine were like mega ultra intense period pains, and very deep, like in a place I never even knew I had inside of me! They were kind of like windy-type pains... Hmmmm, this is harder to describe than I thought! I got the tight belly. I didn't really get the backache or the front pain much, it was mostly the really deep pains for me.

  18. #18
    BellyBelly Member

    Oct 2004
    Cairns QLD
    5,471

    for me (who never has had period pain that felt like labour?) the best way I can describe it is when you are consitpated. that pain you get in the lower gut when you need to do #2. Its like that but worse.

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