I had plenty of BH, but didn't find them to be painful at all. They were just my stomach tightening for a few minutes and it would feel uncomfortable, then it would return to normal.

When I went into labour I still wasn't convinved that what I was having were proper contractions or if for some reason the BH had just decided to become painful LOL. They weren't regular to start with and went on for what felt like ages......I didn't realise I was having one contraction on top of the other. But those contractions, which were the real deal, were definitely painful and had me rocking backwards and forwards to get through them!!