Can braxton Hicks hurt??

I'm currently 38 weeks pregnant and this is my first pregnancy, and have been getting crampy feelings for a while which my ob said its the start of braxton hicks. But this week i've been getting the tightening feeling which i know is normal but they hurt, its breathtaking but not unbearable. It lasts for around 30sec- 45 sec then stop . They aren't regular i've only had them about 3 or 4 times on different times but they really hurt and its starting to scare me if this hurts now how am i going to cope with labour..Is this normal??

hi there!
i get bH now with #2 and they take my breath away - i have to waddle and is so tight that i cant move - ie pressure down there.
So in a way yes it is very uncomrtable.

HOwever if you cant talk or walk whilst having a BH i would tell your OB.

With no .#1 i had BH very regularrly 7 mintues apart some days for 12 hours (and i am not jokin)... when the real contractions started they were from my back and gradually tighthening to the front (BH seem to tighten very quickly - whereas the contraction was a peak and then wore off)...

I went to the hosptial at 39 weeks and they said they were bh and to go home - 3 hrs later DD was born!!

BH can hurt. In my experience labour hurt way more. Everyone's experience is different though. I know someone who only had gas and said it didn't hurt once she had it.

How will you cope? That's what the drugs are there for. Remember that they don't normally offer you an epidural you have to ask for it so word up your support person to remind you of it if you appear not to be coping with the pain. I wish I'd done that as I ended up going without an epi as I forgot to ask for it. Sounds silly I know, but true.

The time before going to hospital can be quite hard as you have to manage it without drugs. Make sure you have some Panadeine Forte in the household in case when you ring the hospital you get advised to take some (happened to me) or else you will be visiting the hospital to take some and then you could be sent home again.

There's also hot water bottles and heat packs for the early stages, sitting in the bath or the shower helps too. Some people get through labour with only this type of thing - I hope you are one of them.

Hi Lozza - yes BH can hurt! It sounds like some pre-labour to me, but that can go on for a couple of weeks.
As for the pain - well yes it will get worse, but you have to try and relax as much as you can - if you try and fight the contractions it will be worse for you. Your body is doing exactly what it's meant to - try concentrating on your baby instead of the pain. There are some great threads here about coping with labour pain - I will try and find them for you.
All the best darl!

Ooooh yes, they can hurt! Mine hurt just as much as my labour contractions - they completely floored me!!

On the other hand I had friends who had no pain with their bh, they laughed through them describing them as a mild tightening.

So the same old story is, they are different for everyone....

I looked at my painful bh as good preperation for the real thing and I think it really helped. When I went into labour properly I was quite relieved that the contractions were no worse than my bh and I felt really steeled that i could make it through labour! (even though the contractions came regularly for many days!)

In some ways the bh were worse because you focus on them so much more as you don't know when they are going to come, how long they will last etc and all with the thought in the back of your mind.... is this the real thing... how will I cope with the real thing..?

I found that in the reality of labour, the regularity of contractions made it easier to focus on other things and the excitement of finally getting to the end of the pregnancy made it much easier.

Best of luck!

I was told at a birthing course that you feel BH pain all over your belly, including the top half. Actual contraction pain is only felt lower down, on the bottom half of your belly, just about where your cervix is, and also in your back. I didn't have painful BH so i can't tell you from experience.
Good luck with it all.

Usually my BH don't hurt, I have had them since very early on, about 10wks? Though in the later stages, from about 34wks I have had a few ouchy ones at times. If I'm doing things generally I don't feel them at all, but if I'm sitting still or not doing much I feel the tightening and sometimes a little ouch. But nothing that has stopped me doing what I'm doing. Just made me think OW!!
My contractions with DD were like falguni said, in my lower belly and back and not in my whole belly like BH.
You will cope with labour. I did and I'm a big WUSS!!!! I admit I had gas and pethadine, but that was with an induced, full-on, almost 24hr long labour (from 3cm-10cm dilation). I am hoping for a natural birth this time. But if I need it, I will have pain relief. Though I will be trying my hardest not to. I am in a good frame of mind which is all important during labour. If you think this is too hard I can't do it, then you won't. But if you think this is all bringing me closer to my baby and my body is doing the right thing, then you will get there! Be positive and let it happen like it is supposed and don't fight it and it will go the way you want.

My bh were so strong during the last week or so I thought I was in labour ... it sucked LOL little did I realise labour was so much more painful *sigh*

Sure can - mine were so painful that when I did actually go into labour I didn't realise that it wasn't BH.

Mine were quite painful too :(

They can be regular but unlike real contractions they don't have that ebb and peak thing like real contractions and they will slow down or stop.

In the last weeks of my last PG every night they would start up and after sitting on the couch thinking this could be it, I'd give up and go to bed and wake up in the morning still PG ;)

Very frustrating and I'm really hoping it's not the same this time but as I'm already getting them most days then I think I'm in for it again!

Thanx guys. Every time i get one i keep thinking is this it? but then it dies down and goes away. That's good to hear that its normal that they can hurt, everywhere i read it said it should'nt hurt but everyone's different. I know its getting close it's only a matter of time for the real thing. It's so scary when you don't know what to expect, but if i do need anything to kill the pain if i'm struggling, i'll have it, there's no need to be a hero.:)

Lozza I think that the things you read that say they shouldn't hurt are probably comparing them to true labour contractions, though for many I suspect BH aren't all that painful but uncomfortable. I know one of my best friends had them and she felt them but she said they weren't painful, just annoying!

I think if you feel you need to take pain relief for them then you should discuss with your care provider :)

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I was told at a birthing course that you feel BH pain all over your belly, including the top half. Actual contraction pain is only felt lower down, on the bottom half of your belly, just about where your cervix is, and also in your back. I didn't have painful BH so i can't tell you from experience.
Good luck with it all.

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when i get mine i get the pain low down in my belly and pain in my back well thats how they were the other night and very regular as well i was going to time them but they eased off im feeling so much pressure as well

with bh they can hurt alright and it feels so tight and i cant walk either also if you need to pee man that hurts

i got some pain down in my cervix really hurt but its eased off now i kinda think my body is getting ready hopefully will make for a esy quicker labour :)