To ask for your help describing a contraction?

[Itsnotmessitsashithole]

Lovely friend is heavily pregnant with her first and has asked me to describe a contraction to her...

Apparently ‘arrrrrghhhh’ was not descriptive enough. But even though it was only 6 months ago, I just found it impossible to describe

So how would you describe a contraction? Will send her a link to thread so do your worst!

It’s been over 11 years since I felt them, but I remember everything tightening way more than I ever thought it could.

It's a bit like a period pain. In the way that a headache is a bit like being hit over the head with a mallet.

Like period pain the hurts as much as a limb being cut off.

This time around it was like cramp in my thighs after running uphill, except every 2 minutes it stopped for 30 seconds. So although it was aaarrrrgh, i knew I could cope with anything for 2 minutes.

I've also mainly forgotten, but I do remember describing the drive to hospital to DP - it felt like someone was driving a spear up my vagina. It felt like if I'd have let myself, I could have hovered off the car seat on the pain.

I don't remember anything else about the tightening, just this repeated stabbing - like trapped wind, but X10.

Mind you, I didn't dilate, and had EMCS twice, so perhaps what I felt was an indicator that something was wrong.

Depends what stage. At some point “the worst physical feeling possible, ever”. Maybe don’t lead with that though 🙈

In the beginning you THINK it’s bad. But you are just a sweet summer child in the beginning of the labour, you don’t know what’s coming and no one can prepare you 😁 I literally said to DH and my mother “oh I think this is it!” And DH told me later when I wasn’t looking my mother shook her head at him and made the cutting hand under neck symbol for “fuck no”.

For me it was like two red hot chains being tightened around my lower back and belly and having to try and move and breath through it. And then it would go. And then start again.

For me the closest comparison was when I had severe stomach cramps when I've had D&V.

I felt it as more like a diarrhoea cramp pain - I thought I had an upset bowel for the first 6 hours.

Then it became like whole-body faradism - not that anyone does faradism now. So assuming she didn't train as a physio in (or before) the 1980s, she could give herself the idea by putting a TENS machine on her arm and turning it up as high as it would go, then imagining it all over her body, radiating from her uterus.

I don't think us "doing our worst" will really help your friend mentally. It'll scare her unnecessarily and it's impossible to describe anyway.

it felt like someone was driving a spear up my vagina

^ this

I’m not sure how to describe it other than hurts like fuck

It’s just slightly less painful than a leg cramp - but still worse than a leg cramp because it keeps repeating itself. You get one leg cramp and your done. Contractions not so much.

@TreestumpsAndTrampolines Omg the dreaded car journey to hospital, I can remember it well! That's the memory that sticks in my head also.

For most of labour for me it felt very similar to a combination of the worst period pain ever plus the worst pre-diarrhoea stomach cramps ever. Times about ten.

When it was actually time to push though it was still painful, but mostly I just felt like I was being squeezed like a tube of toothpaste, by my own muscles. Was the weirdest thing ever.

I would say like very bad period pains in a band around you getting stronger and then fading away . Have you seen the film with a balloon and a ping bong ball which explains what happens? I wish I had seen it before my labour.

Not sure how this is particularly helpful to your friend

my best advice is if she's not sure if she's having one, she's not having one.

For me being in early stage labour tummy tightenings felt like a muscle twitch you get in your eye or finger or toe or wherever but like a band across my stomach, so if someone else could put their hand on your stomach it would feel tense, and release.

Deep into labour it felt like I'd had terrible diorahea, had been sat on the toilet for an hour with nothing left to give, or to live for and yet my stomach was still trying to shit it all out. That sort of wrenching and cramping from the lower internal bits. But you know, maybe just tell her the first bit.

I don't really know how to describe it as mine was under 2 hours and went from nothing to "OH MY FUCKING GOD" sort of pain. Absolutely lost it and couldn't not calm myself.

I definitely didn't have the contraction then rest thing though, I was induced so not sure if that made a difference but it was painful very quickly and only got stronger until after baby was born.

I had pethadine so mine were not too bad to be honest

A severe period pain.

I always describe it as a very intense pain but soon over. I’ve had three labours (the first was terrible) but still think acute back pain is the worst.

Intense bone pain in my back pelvis and a vice round my lower abdomen. My skin was also hyper sensitive so much so that I had to stand on tiptoe and balance against the bed with my fingertips.
And when the head was ready to be delivered, my insides were in fire!

The worst cramp you'll ever experience.

Mine started like a rolling/squeezing feeling in my tummy. They weren't more painful than period pains till I was already in the hospital. I thought they were just braxton hicks for ages.