will i know a contraction when i have one?

[CinderToriella]

Hi Guys

Just wondering what contractions felt like for u? if u have had previous bubs of course

i have had a lot of BH but im just thinking will i actually know what a real contraction is when i have one?

i know its hard to explain and describe but what do they feel like? does it start at the top and move down? or sometimes just at the bottom? bit confused lol

[Nelle]

I imagine you will know a contraction when you feel one.

An explanation that resonated with me is that they feel a bit like a wave, you can feel it starting, it grows in intensity, it peaks, and then fades away. So when you feel one coming you can prepare, start to focus so that you're breathing through the peak and then know it'll fade.

[Feijoa Mum]

Mine start out like period pains. Niggly at first which you have already been having but then you will realise that these are becoming a bit ouchier after a while and then they start coming at going at regular intervals.
After four times I still dont know at the beginning if this is "it" or not, but once your contractions become established I promise you there is no chance you wont know.

[~breeze~]

Mine started off as just like a bit of slight period pain... like All-Boys described. I just took note of the time & went back to sleep (it had woken me from sleep) when I checked the time after I had it a second time I noticed it had strangly been exactly 20 mins since the last, took note of time & back to sleep. I did this about 4 more times before calling the hospital & letting them know what I was feeling, they told me it sounded like the start of labour & to stay home as long as possible before comig in.

They got more painful & closer together as time went by.

& how Nelle described it is accurate for me aswell once I reach "that stage" you feel it coming, build up, peak, then ease off.

I'm sure you'll have a good idea not long after the contractions start... even if you miss the first few due to sleep or not noticing etc.

Good luck!

[Alan]

Hi Shell
Unfortunately it is very difficult to say what contractions feel like. For some women they start as back pain for others it starts low down under your bump. If your contractions are regular in frequency and length of contraction. For example, all your contractions are about 15 minutes apart and all your contractions last about 30 seconds, then this is probably the real thing and not Braxton hicks. Just be aware that sometimes contractions can start, go on for a few hours, then just stop.

[Lewis's Mummy]

I was lucky enough to pretty much miss the early part of my labour, so naive - I had what I thought were period pains during the day and figured that meant something would happen in about a week... like it always used to mean - they got a bit stronger and i needed a heat pack to keep comfortable, but I didn't pay them too much attention, just shrugged them off. I was confused by the book descriptions saying they started at the top and radiated down - I never felt anything at the top, and the feeling lower down was for me like my normal bad period pain days. Once my waters broke in the early hours of the following morning and the hospital said to come in, they pretty much stopped for a couple of hours. When they restarted, there was no mistaking them! Things went fairly quickly from then on. I've got my fingers crossed I might still be naive enough to miss the early ones with number 2 too lol!

[danniellabella]

For me I knew straight away but my waters also broke before contractions started. My first contraction after waters broke was quite strong, like period pain but it also kind of knocked the wind out of me too.
I guess the only way to tell the difference between BH and actual labour is to see if it becomes regular. At this stage of your pregnancy I'd probably start checking the time that the BH starts and make a note (mental or written) of the time and then see if others come regularly or not. They generally intensify a little each time too.

[Lulu]

Mine start out like period pains. Niggly at first which you have already been having but then you will realise that these are becoming a bit ouchier after a while and then they start coming at going at regular intervals.
After four times I still dont know at the beginning if this is "it" or not, but once your contractions become established I promise you there is no chance you wont know.

Yep, it's like that for me too. Even with my 3rd it took ages to convince me that it was labour - then I have to run to the hospital like a madwoman because I have fast labours

[beckoes]

I spent hours in denile about the fact i was in labour. I imagined contractions to be all over my whole tummy or low down right underneath my bump, but they were right at the top, almost in my chest (as i was so big). I remember think if this hurts whats labour going to be like....in reality...that was labour! I guess you spend so long waiting and wondering and then when its actually happening you cant belive its real! I accepted it was real when my legs felt like they werent able to keep me standing up during them and i have to kneel down! And i was on the phone to the midwife and was explaining that i didnt think it was real and i had one on the phone and couldnt talk through it....she said 'yes...thats real'!!

Everyone tells you 'it hurts' and i just said 'yeah, im pretty good with pain' i was actually shocked at the kind of pain....when you hurt your self its kind of surface pain, this is right inside you....i know thats obvious, but when id imagined labour i guess id imagined the muscles on the out side, that you can touch when you put your hand on your tummy hurting, but its so internal....does that make any sence or do i just sound like a wierdo! sorry!!!

[CinderToriella]

oh beck lol yeah i know what your trying to say but as iv never had a bubba its hard for me to know what it would feel like ..

i imagined it to be like bad surface pain as well, even though of course it cant be when its all your insides moving your bub down , but its so hard to know how it feels like untill your having one i guess.

Iv just got really bad period pain that iv had bad for the last 2 days ,wouldnt it be lovely if thats all the pain i get lol

[beckoes]

It is impossible to know till its actually happening to you! would be nice if it was just period pain the whole time though...you know, i read somewhere that 5% of woman dont have very much pain atall.....oh to be that 5%!!! (not sure how true that is btw)
Something that got me threw the first few hours was just saying 'good pain, good pain' over and over!! have you read that book by juju sundin (someone will know the name, ive forgotten...birth something) . was pretty good for me.

ETA: its called 'birth skills'...i googled it

[CinderToriella]

thanks guys


they all sound so different but yet the same in a way

I get lots of period like pain and BH as it is so unless i have a really bad contraction or waters breaking i doubt i will know the difference between a real contraction and BH

So many times now iv thought 'nope this is it' but then nothing lol

[CinderToriella]

one other question

does the pain stop all together after a contraction or is there some pain or niggling etc in between as well?

[danniellabella]

For me it stopped completely between contractions.

[Mad Scientist]

It usually stops completely. With DD1 she was posterior so I had agonising back pain during and between contractions but with DD2 I had a complete pain free break between them, even if it was short! You'll know a real contraction when you have it, even if it means that you've missed the early labour ones, once they become stronger, you'll know they are real. And like everyone has said, they are very regular. Good luck with it all!

[HollyC]

You won't know when you have one, you will know once you have had 10 or 20. I think it is the pattern of them that tells you this is it.

Generally: each contraction will come, build in intensity and then fade away. There won't be any pain in between contractions. They will become longer, more intense and closer together over time.

And they won't stop after an hour or two.

[Sagres]

I didn't know when I had my first contractions. I felt something that woke me up and kept waking me up every 30 minutes overnight but they had stopped by morning, I thought they were BH. It wasn't until a week later and I was induced and had what I knew where contractions and went 'oh, that's what I got last friday night!'.

When I had period type pain I don't remember it going back to nothing but with the actual contractions, yes, I did go back to normal with no pain between contractions.

[Janie]

Funnily enough, this has been a good thread for me to read . Things feel like they're kicking off in a completely different way to last time (PROM, cx starting an hour later, four minutes apart straight away, OP baby). This time I am getting lots of those period pain-type niggles, it's all down low, and sometimes in my back.

For those who had the period pain-type cx, did you find that it changed into your labour? Did the cx start moving up to the top of your uterus? Or did it stay down low?

Shell, I totally hear where you're coming from, I have been woken in the night a couple of times wondering if things are slowly starting. But the others are right, when it's labour, you'll know! If you have to ask "am I in labour?" you're probably not