What do contractions feel like?

Hi:

I have asked three women what contractions feel like, and they all gave me different answers...but then two of them had scheduled c-sections and confessed they were not sure.

I have heard that BH contractions feel like menstrual cramps.
I have heard the the real deal feels like the need to go to the bathroom (#2).

This forum seems like a better place to ask....since most of us on here are obviously eager to learn and share.

Thank you.

No such thing as TMI here!

 

My BH didn't really feel like menstrual cramps to me. They felt uncomfortable but not painful. My belly got rock solid and felt very tight. :unsure: It was so tight at times that I could barely stand up straight. But after drinking a ton and laying down they always went away. :good:

As for the "real ones", I've only had, what they told me, are back contractions. :woah: Those hurt very much. I couldn't sit, stand, nothing... it was an extreme tightening in my back and it was definately much more painful then BH. I've not experienced regular contractions because I had a scheduled c/s.

Good luck!

 

I think you havent got many responses because its really hard question to answer! It feels so different for everyone and trying to find words to describe the feeling is difficult.

I had preterm labor 2x and then of course the real thing.

Braxton Hicks felt like a vice grip clamping down around my stomach. the whole thing would get rock hard. Id have to stop walking, talking or whatever I was doing. It would last a few seconds and then pass. I could function again. I could lay on my side and drink water and it would pass.

Real contractions felt like a vice grip that never ever released. I coulnt walk, talk, I didnt even want to open my eyes. My husband applied constant pressure to my lower back because it felt good to apply pressure back.

Have you ever had a tension headache? where you just want to squeeze your head to take the pain away? It kinda felt like that for me except around my middle section.
I never felt like I had to poop, I did however feel like I seriously needed to pee when it was time to push. I kept telling the nurse I had to pee- and here it was time to push!

 

With my daughter I thought at first it was just stomach cramps, like the kind you get if you have to go #2. Well I started to notice that they were coming regularly and I freaked out! lol Didn't expect that at 4 a.m. F.Y.I. - I did start wearing my watch all the time during that last month just for that reason. haha

Anyways... my Braxton Hicks just feel like a tightening. Sorta like the babies are balling up. I notice that it is more uncomfortable when I have a full bladder, dunno why. The Braxton Hicks are nothing compared to the killer round ligament pain I've been having now for two days. *grrr*

 

I should be able to answer this question easily as I had constant around the clock contractions from 20 weeks until 31 weeks. I went into real labor at 20 weeks and that early it felt menstrual cramps. Exactly like menstrual cramps. BH just felt like tightening, never painful for me at all. It was quite tight, not rock hard, but you get the picture. I was in labor 36 hours before they were born and that was regular painful tightening down low, alternating between the front and the back, sometimes both depending on how the babies were positioned. They pretty much shut me down. I could keep breathing through them, but I couldn't move or anything. When I was 4 cm dilated I had an epidural to remove my cerclage, so after that I am not sure what they feel like.

 

With my singleton pregnancy, I started getting BH at about 32 weeks. When i went into labor at 38 weeks, I didn't even know it really because I thought I was just getting more BH contractions and they were just not going away. They start off like BH contractions but get stronger and longer and faster. They also don't go away. You sometimes can feel them in your back but that depends on how the baby or babies are lying.

 

BH contrx feel more like a tightening across your abdomen. Your belly will get rock hard & then it will release. It doesn't really "hurt", it just feels uncomfortable due to the tightening and how tight/hard your belly gets. It can sometimes last 1-2 minutes before it relaxes.

The "real deal" can be different for each person. However, those are the contractions that feel more like menstrual cramps and can also start with low back pain that radiates around to your abdomen. It's definitely more of a "crampy" feeling than a "tightening" feeling. They usually only last (early stages) for about 30-60 seconds long. They will be more timeable too---maybe not at the very start but eventually you'll notice them coming approx. every 10-12 minutes and less after time (varies for each person!). Generally, you know that if the contrx are lasting longer than 1-2 minutes they are probably Braxton Hicks. HTH!!