What do contractions feel like?

Question

I'm tired of the hospital doing the contraction monitor and telling me I'm NOT having contractions. I have had contractions, but not the 30-45 second thing? Not that I know of? Though the other day I had 2 within 1 minute contractions, but none after that for awhile, then when I was sleeping woke up with my right side hurting. The nurse told me last visit I have had some contractions, but not frequent enough for the REAL thing... so, what exactly does a contraction feel like? Is each contraction feel the same?

Answer 1

yes each contraction feels the same and they get closer together and stronger in intensity. They are like really localised period pain that gets worse with time. Sort of like a vice squeezing your abdomen and radiating downward toward your vagina.

You probably have had contractions but they aren't considered 'real contractions' because they aren't strong and getting close together. These are like practice ones.
Or they are braxton hicks which can be painful but aren't doing anything to make you dilate.

Real contractions will make you dilate and will be pushing the baby down the birth canal. Braxton hicks won't.

Just hang in there. Eventually they will start to form a time and pain pattern and go from 30sec long every 10mins, to 1 min long every 7mins, to 90sec long and by then they should be 3-4 mins apart.
however everyone is different.

You will absolutely know when the real deal happens because it is totally unmistakeable. Gut instinct tells you its time! And then you'll laugh at yourself after you realise all those other pains were nothing like what you are getting when labour hits!

Best of luck and hang in there. Enjoy some last minute peace and quiet and try walking and sex to kick things along (providing your water hasn't broken)

EDIT: a good piece of advice I got from the midwife was if your not sure then it ISN'T the real thing and if you can still laugh and talk its not time to go to hospital yet. When you are 110% sure and you can't talk, laugh or walk during the pain then go to hospital, your in labour.

Answer 2

When u r having true contractions they are usually very consistant -- 20 minutes apart -- 5 minutes apart etc.. when you first start labor they do not hurt that isn't until u are getting into hard labor.. but can be strong. -- best way i can describe a mild contraction is a tightening of the uterus -- it can feel the same way if you have a orgasim during sex. as labor progresses the contractions get harder -- braxton hicks contractions are usually not predictable but can sometimes seem that way but will not last -- if you are having consistant contractions that are increasing in time and patterned then you might go to the doctor -- i lived about 10 miles away from the hopital and was told to come in if and when my contractions reach at least a consistant 5 minutes apart. hope this helps.

Answer 3

I jus asked the same thing the other night LOL. Im told that the real ones take your breath away, are mainly in your lower back and pelvic area. Im always confusing BH contractions for the real ones. So what I do is lay down,drink some water and wait about an hour to see if they go away. Or I take a lil nap and see if I can sleep thru them. They always turn out to be fake. Also each contraction should get stronger. Try moving around or walking. If that makes them hurt more and not go away chances are they are real. Good Luck!!

Answer 4

When they first admitted me into the hospital, they told me I was having contractions (via the monitor) but I had no clue. I didn't feel them at all (as a matter of fact, I'd only gone up there to ask what I should do since I was coming down w/ the flu at 39 weeks pregnant)
Anyway, by morning my "contractions" (the ones I'd never felt) were gone... so they decided to go ahead and induce me.
They used Pitocin.... and about three hrs later I was in dire agony! The contractions felt like someone had a coil of barbed wire, just churning it in my stomach!!! They were coming every three minutes and lasting a minute each. The "cramps" (as the doc called them) or the "OMG holy-crap-I'm-gonna-die cramps" as I'd more fairly say, were getting the better of me... so a couple of hours later I got the epidural. I tried to do it without the epidural, I just couldn't... they were way too intense!
Hang in there girl! It sounds like you're almost there!

Answer 5

No not even close. braxton hicks is when your whole belly gets real tight for seconds to minutes,feels like pressure,cant breathe and a little tiny cramp. Real contractions feel EXACTLY like your period cramps but soooo much more intense. U will definitely know when it is real labor or not. The pain will not get better but only get worse...think back to when u had really bad cramps with your period and multiply that by 100...with an epidural and some pain meds u will manage...good luck!!

Answer 6

For me it felt like there was a belt or bungee cord wrapped around my lower back and abdomen...below the belly button...and that someone was pulling it tight and letting it loose again over and over again. Each pull felt like it was getting a little stronger and lasting a little longer. They should be coming at consistent intervals and they should be lasting at least 60 seconds long before they start to actually produce any results. The Bradley Method rule of thumb is that the pains should be 3 minutes apart, lasting at least 1 minute long, for 1 hour before you go to the hospital. HOWEVER, if you live far away from the hospital or you feel like everything is progressing fast...go before that please! My early labor started at about 3 AM and it was over 12 hours before I went to the hospital. Mine were still about 7 minutes apart but I had over an hour to get to the hospital. So, if you go from easy labor to intense labor quickly...get to the hospital.

Answer 7

To me it felt like each contracion got worse each time. I do know that the fake ones are nothing compared to the real thing. Not in that it hurt more but just that it felt like someone kind of pushing down on your abdomen. Mine were back to back contractions when the real thing occured though... like 45 sec. apart.

Answer 8

A contraction feels like a cramp only 100 times worse! You are probably feeling them now but they are braxton hicks ones.. they will feel the same only more intense and you will get them more regular when you are in labor.

Good luck and congrats!!

Answer 9

You will know for sure. Mucus plug will come and then you will feel a breathe taking pain in lower back, and you will feel a strong pressure in your vagina area. Good luck and remember to breathe.

Answer 10

thy feel like a seriously seriously intense period cramps...i kept thinking i was in labor cause i was getting braxton hicks every 5 minutes for like an entire day...i went...lol nope!!! they say that they are practice contracions not strong enough to change your cervix....trust me you will know!!!!i know the difference now!!! you will too hun =)