Can someone explain contractions to me???

[JMarie]

Okay, I am pretty sure I've been having B-H contractions for about three weeks now, but I don't know for certain. I had an appointment today with one of my OB's but it was a little rushed (she'd just run over from the hospital) and I am still confused by her explanation. Here's what I can 'feel' - my entire ab area gets all tight, like one big charley horse, except I don't really feel it. There is no pain and really no feeling at all. Seriously - the only way I can tell it is happening is if I put my hands on my belly and try to push it in. I know it's all tight when I can't push it in at all. Sometimes it will feel like I have to go to the bathroom (#1, no feeling like I have to #2 yet...), but that's all. I'm supposed to start timing them, but if I don't really feel it start, how can I time anything? Has anyone else had these and do they get stronger and more easily recognized? Or am I just feeling something else?

JMarie
EDD 2/23/03
Aidan Christopher

[jojo2324]

Those sound like Braxton-Hicks to me! I started feeling them around the fifth-sixth month. It wasn't until the last month (weeks really) that any sort of sensation accompanied them. And that's when I was standing a lot or running around doing things at work, so those might have been true contractions. I never felt like I needed to go to the bathroom, just my stomach would get really tight all of a sudden. That's it. And hard! I've never had a harder stomach in my life than when I was pregnant. Pity, really...

I wouldn't worry too much about timing them accurately right now. If you happen to catch one, glance at your watch and make note of it. They will become more apparent as you get nearer to your EDD and you'll be able to time them then. I must say, however, that towards the end DS would slam his whole body up against my stomach and I would think that was a B-H. It got a little confusing.

[SASM]

I second Joanne's comment.

I think that I started noticing them around the seventh month (just tensing). I really started feeling them in the eighth month (the tension starts at the top of the belly and makes its way down until the whole belly is hard). It is really neat! At this point (37.5 weeks) I am having them ~50 times a day. Like Joanne said, I wouldn't worry about timing them now. If your doctor wants you to time them, wait until later in the game, when they are more pronounced. My doctor is not even concerned about them - didn't mention anything about timing them.

Enjoy your last trimester :-) Good luck!!

Sharyn
EDD #1 01.21.03

[_gour0]

I noticed this happening at night, but didn't know or worry what it was. My sister asked me over x-mas if I had had any bh, but I said 'no'. :) Also, she asked me if the baby has been getting hiccups. Again, I said 'no', but who knows? I guess I am a little too relaxed about this whole pregnancy thing! Anything that happens I just assume is 'normal' and don't worry much about what it's called. I'm 30 weeks today and am just happy that nothing serious has happened to either me or ds. Dh is starting to express worry about 'what might happen' to either of us. I told him not to because I really feel like positive thinking is important for us. I'm not really enamored of being pregnant, but I don't worry. Dh thinks I'm not realistic, but I figure he's realistic enough for the both of us! Good luck, and keep us posted.

[Momof1Golden1Lab]

Those sound exactly like B-H. I started feeling them around 15-16 weeks (did you know that you get them through the whole pregnancy, many women just don't notice them?). My doctor's rule of thumb was to call if I had more than 4-6 in an hour (nothing about timing them). I never did.

I was always told that I will "know" real labor when it happens. Well, my water broke first, so I definitely knew that the time was coming! But when the contrations started - every 5 minutes - it was unmistakable because my belly was so hard a LOT rather than just every now and then with B-H.

Your uterus is just warming up for the big event!!

[Rachel 3]

Yep, that's B-H. I had them from the second trimester on. At the end, the tightness was pretty powerful. At times, I wondered how I would know if it was B-H or real labor, but on this side of it, I can tell you with confidence that there's no mistaking which is which. Labor contractions feel really different. Mine began with a sort of crampy sensation and just forged ahead from there. Also, in actual labor, your whole abdomen contracts uniformly, while with BH, you can get tight in only one spot, or only on one side, etc. I wouldn't worry about timing them, either now or in early labor. This is common advice, but it doesn't mean anything. You don't want to wear yourself out "working" your contractions before you need to. Soon enough in your labor, you will have no choice but to give them your full attention. It's better for your stamina to NOT do that until you have to. First time moms often exhaust themselves timing and breathing and all of that before labor really gets cranking, and then there aren't a lot of resources left for the hard stuff. When it's time to time, your body will tell you in no uncertain terms. Meanwhile, just relax and let it practice for the work you have ahead. Your body knows what it's doing.

Rachel (used to be Rachels)
Mom to Abigail Rose
5-18-02

[JMarie]

Okay, I feel much better - I guess I was just so rushed by my OB that she sort of freaked me out. I mean, why am I timing these things if they're supposed to be happening? I know they're keeping an eye on me because of 'family history' (both mom and sister had pre-term labor, irritable uterus, and incompetent cervix), but so far I haven't had any problems. I suppose the stress of worrying is worse than anything... Thanks everyone.

JMarie
EDD 2/23/03
Aidan Christopher

[Rachel 3]

What mean words: irritable uterus, incompetent cervix. I do think the stress of worrying is risky, if only because it can work against the feeling that you're strong and competent to give birth. This is sort of my schtick, but I think that it's worth it to remember that your body is doing exactly what it was designed to do. You have grown this baby perfectly; the birth may as well be perfect, too!

Rachel (used to be Rachels)
Mom to Abigail Rose
5-18-02

[suzska2003]

If your baby had hiccups, I think you'd know. Evan would get them for 20 minutes at a time! Just think about what a hiccup would feel like if it was in your belly--it's very rhythmic. Evan got them for a few months after he was born, too, but they never seemed to bother him.

I also had BH for months, but didn't know that was what the tightening was until I was in the hospital ready to deliver. LOL! I would contract and it would feel like Evan's butt was going to pop out the side of my stomach! Between the hiccups and the BH and the kicking, I knew which way Evan was turned for weeks (head down).

--Sue B.
SAHM to Evan Jeffrey 03-11-01

[JMarie]

I've felt Aidan's hiccups the past couple of weeks - DH thinks it's hilarious. He'll sit there with his hand on my belly and just laugh. I don't think they last any 20 minutes, but I can tell that Aidan is head-down, turned with his spine along the left side - and an elbow or something stuck in my belly button! Every once in a while I get a direct hit. He's also becoming famous for 'cat stretches.' He's quite a character already. I guess I should just be happy there haven't been any rib kicks... yet...

JMarie
EDD 2/23/03
Aidan Christopher

[dogmom]

As a health care professional I can say that your OB is probably telling you to time them to cover her own -- well, you know. The wisdom them impart in all the medical textbooks is that it's a "real contract" if you can't talk through it. She just probably wants to make sure you're not one of those few individuals that have "mild contractions." BH are all real contractions, they just aren't going to get you anywhere. Of course you don't know for sure until they stop and there is no baby. Many first time Moms I know spent a while trying to figure out if "this was it," but eventually the contractions got strong enough & regularly enough that they declared themselves as "real thing."

I try to think of it as my body practicing for the main event. I get them during the long commute home. I drove myself crazy one evening trying to time them and drive at the same time. Usually when I get up out of the car when I get home and walk around they subside. I decided not to worry about them since I was either going to go into labor early or not. (At one point I had risk factors on ultrasound that disappeared later, placenta previa/extra amniotic fluid.) Now I'm full term and just sitting around waiting! You're right not to dwell on that family history stuff. I spent two months with several very experienced nurses I know thinking I was going into labor early, and they all turned out to be wrong. At least I got the nursery together by month 7!

I actually wound up switching OB in the group practice half-way through my pregnancy and am now with a much younger, more goofy OB whose probably just out of residency. I actually find him much more comforting because he hasn't completely developed the polished OB style yet and I find it easier to "read him" and figure out what's actually going on. He's much more willing to admit he doesn't have all the answers, woman vary, and that the OB actually does vary little. Still he manages to reassure me things will be just fine, which is all I want out of him from a visit. If the OB doesn't have time to talk with you next time, maybe the nurse can, if there is one. I find the one that works with my OB to be a wealth of information and she has more time than he does.

J.M.

[sparkeze1]

There's really only one way to distinguish BH from real contractions. You have to go into real labor and then you'll think to yourself "okay, there's definitely a difference!!"

I always wondered, how will I know?? And they all say - you will know. But I still kept thinking, how will I know? And then when I was in labor, I knew.

:)

[JMarie]

Everyone keeps telling me I will know - except my sister. She never knew. She was at 6 centimeters, still didn't know, and her OB told her she would have the baby that day. Didn't feel any real contractions until they broke her water at 10 centimeters, and THEN she knew she was in labor. Maybe she's just trying to make me feel better - or maybe she's trying to scare me into thinking I'll deliver in the back of my brand new car! One of the other OB's actually called me today - on a SUNDAY! - to check on me and see how the contractions are going. Still averaging about two to three an hour, all very irregular, but I am reassured by the fact that they would call.

JMarie
EDD 2/23/03
Aidan Christopher

[Rachel 3]

I was told that as long as you have no more than 6 an hour, it's no big deal.

Rachel (used to be Rachels)
Mom to Abigail Rose
5-18-02

[newbelly2002]

I used to get B-H contractions all the time starting from about 5 months in. At one point they were averaging 4-5 an hour, but inconsistent in both intervals and intensity. The real things will feel different. Lower, and more across your lower back. B-H tended to focus in my abdomen area.

Of course, a gall bladder attack brought on real contractions so I got a bit of a preview with 3 weeks to go. But I wouldn't recommend that method. . .

Paula