Cramps, Braxton Hick's, Help?

Sadly everyone tells you that you will know when you are in labor or when you are having a braxton hicks contraction. What I couldn't get from anyone is exactly what they felt like so I didn't realize I was having contractions with my first. Contractions don't hurt until you are further into labor. With that said, I think you know what cramping is, its a pain in your pelvic area that hurts. Braxton hicks and contractions are your uterus tightening up into a hard ball for up to a couple of minutes and then releasing and going back to normal. I didn't realize this hard ball tightening effect was that. You want to make sure if it is a braxton hicks that they are infrequent and not constant. If you continue to get them call your doctor. If you get one, stop doing what you are doing and relax. Getting stressed won't help it go away. You will get them occasionally during pregnancy and it's ok, its the continual ones that you need to be concerned about. With cramping that could be a problem too. With either its best to call your doctor for peace of mind.

Agree with S.C. - I'd always call your OB/GYN to explain and see what they recommend. They are accustomed to the calls and likely have a triage nurse to help.

If you're concerned, trust your instincts and press forward to be physically evaluated.

I woke-up wondering if my water had broken with my second child. The triage nurses didn't think so all day, finally on the third call they had me come to the hospital to appease me (they thought it was stress incontinence since I was full term). Sure enough, I had a small leak in my amniotic sac which required them to induce me.

Good luck. I hope it's just a severe case of gas.

It is really annoying when people say this but you will know. Braxton hicks are just a tightening sensation in your bump and although uncomfortable are not painful. Contractions that are causing you to dilate are painful and you cannot do anything else during one except stop and breathe your way through it. They will become longer , stronger and closer together. So if you have some painful contractions for maybe an hour that don't seem to be going away then start timing them.

Good luck

I don't know if I ever really felt a reall Braxton Hick's contraction, but when i finally began having real contractions it was after having felt a mild crampiness (think menstrual cramps or diarrhea type cramps) off and on all day. I just put it up to the general pregnancy stuff. Finally, the "cramps" became regular and stronger (not yet painful) and I thought it might be the beginning so I started measuring and they were about 10 min apart. Then over the next couple of hours they became shorter and shorter and stronger and stronger and I knew for sure! My docs advice was to call when they were 5 min apart and leave for the hospital when they were 3 min apart.

Labor pains are regular. Braxton Hicks are all over the place. Drink a lot of water and they may go away. You can have Braxton Hicks all day. When your contractions start to get about a half hour apart regularly it may be a sign of labor. This could go on all night or all day. When your contractions are about 8 minutes apart you might want to start letting your doctor know and any family members know just in case you need them to be ready. Again this could be all day. Your doctor will tell you to come in when they are between 4 and perhaps 6 minutes apart or are really painful. When you go in they will check if you have dilated and if you have dilated enough you can go ahead and get an epidural. Some people take a long long long time to dilate even one cm. So this is a waiting game, especially if this is your first. If you are leaking any water/amniotic fluid your doctor will want you to come in and check to see if this is amniotic fluid. If it is then you'll probably stay at the Hospital regardless of how far along you are. Good luck!

From my personal experience, my stomach would get hard and there would be a certain amount of discomfort, but it never "HURT" when it was a braxton hicks contraction.

SO many women have this same question. Do not hesitate to go to your doctor and ask, as they can definitely take a look to ensure that all is well. That will ease your mind.

As an out of hospital natural Childbirth educator and doula, I have this as a common question early in class and in early mtgs with clients. No labor does not have to hurt!!!! Braxton Hicks will go after fairly easily with position changes. With true labor, your contractions will have your belly tighten and eventually form a pattern.Patience, getting up and walking and learning to relax and know that this is normal will help.
L. M

As someone who didn't know I was in labor the first time around (had back pains/crampy feeling) until my water broke, I'm with the people who say don't be afraid to call the doctor. Poeple have different labor experiences and different pain tolerance levels, so it doesn't hurt to check it out.

You should call your doctor when the contractions are 5 minutes apart (from start of one to the start of the next one), lasting for at least 1 minute, for a 1 hour period. My water broke before my contractions started, so you may not even have to time the contractions if this happens to you....but once I started having the contractions (they had to give me pitocin), I could definitely feel the difference!
As for the 'feeling' - I would say Braxton Hicks felt like a tightening of my stomach....it would get super hard...but labor contractions felt like a REALLY bad case of diarrhea. That's really the only way I can describe it...