Please tell me something warm and fuzzy about Braxton Hicks

[Daysleeper1985]

I'd love to hear that the more you have, the quicker the labour. Or it means I'll start quicker, or that my uterus is now an Olympic althete ready to win gold for the easiest labour ever. (I'm actually hypnobirthing so maybe scrap that last bit).

I'm 38+1 and get them all day long, sometimes 10 minutes apart. Often when I'm walking and then feel kinda numb and heavy down below.

This is my second baby, but I was induced last time and never had a single one of the little bastard BH in that pregnancy.

Any thoughts, experience or general platitudes very welcome. I'm a rather grumpy whale now.

Urge I had then ALL the time last time. Got really bad when walking downhill !

Only had a 5 hour active labour though.....

Good to know Jellybaby! 😊😊 thank you x

I got them loads, went from 3 to 9cm in about 4 hours at home. That was the easy bit!

What do they feel like? I'm forever reading about them but have never experienced anything remotely like what I expect a contraction to feel like (first baby). If they help the labour I would rather like to have some

At 40+8 I have been getting them for weeks but am working on the theory that with this much practice the real thing will be quick and easy... also dc2 and didn't really get them first time round.

Hard to describe but you'll just know!

Imagine your bump going rock solid and really tight and just generally feeling very uncomfortable ...

You can actually see the bump tighten up and "contract". Felt painful and uncomfortable. I thought it was labour at first!

Mine feel a bit like someone has sat on your chest, can't breathe and you're in a crusher. That and bump going rock hard. Happening all day today and I'm quite over it now.

I never had a single BH. DD was born 12 days overdue after a pretty straightforward 12 hour labour.

Aye glueandstick that's exactly what mine used to feel like, more like asthma than uterus, all up in my chest. However in the last week the 'vice' has felt much lower down, below belly button. I'm hoping that's a good sign??!! I was actually offered a sweep TODAY - which personally I thought was ridiculous as I'm only 38+2 !

Positive thought: I understand that BH aren't a waste of time, even if you're not in active labour or dilating, they are doing something in terms of your uterus preparing/getting toned up. So while uncomfortable and annoying, it's not pointless suffering

The only good thing about them is that they don't end with something massive coming out of your vagina.

Ooh exciting I've had that crushing feeling in my chest on and off for the last few weeks! Never thought to feel if my abdomen was going hard at the same time. Hopefully this means my body will be totally ready to go and this baby will come flying out with ease

I had absolutely loads of BH in the last two week before I had dd(my second baby). they were bloody awful...but I had a 5 hour, easy labour with no tears. Mw said that a lot of the "work" had been done!

Just what I need to hear Nicky thank you! 39 weeks tomorrow and the bh are low and frigging uncomfortable now!! X

Hey, Daysleeper, everyone I've spoken to - the midwives at the hospital, my mate who is a GP, my pregnancy yoga teacher - says that Braxton Hicks are a good thing! Uterus toning and preparing etc.

They'd better be, I've woken up from the pain at 2am every morning for the past couple of weeks, sometimes so bad it's made me want to vom.

I get them when DH and I have sex, almost every time as long as I orgasm. Have been since about 24 weeks. The same happened last time around, it's very odd.

I had loads and loads. Didnt even go into labour so was induced. Sorry.

On the upside, that well toned uterus managed to get out an 11lb2 baby with only slight assistance from a ventouse.

I never found Braxton Hicks painful. But they heavy feeling you describe sounds a bit like SPD. If it's a constant feeling then you probably have it to a very mild degree. If it's only when your uterus is tightening, then probably just due to that.

It's definitely not spd, I had that last pregnancy and no BH! It's not constant, very much could be anywhere between every hour to every 10 minutes, classic BH sensations. Thanks all though, I'm pretty positive my uterus is just like an Olympic athlete now, ready to knock 'it' out 'the park' haha. I'm hypnobirthing, not always so smug, I just really believe your body wouldn't be doing something unless it had a purpose! ...but if she could hurry up and evict herself in the next few days that would be good