Rock hard stomach for hours on end

[TollyBB]

I never thought I'd be complaining about having a rock hard stomach but I'm 33 weeks and my stomach keeps getting extremely hard and very uncomfortable for hours and hours. It gets worse as the day goes on. Is this Braxton Hicks? I was under the impression that they last for a few minutes at a time...not for this long. It's wonderfully painfully when baby does his 'cat in a paper bag' impression...which is most of the time! Has anyone else experienced this? Should I be worried? My midwife never responds to my calls so she's a useless source of information!

This happens to me frequently, I'm nearly 33 weeks pregnant, be great if someone can shed some light :)

They sound just like braxton hicks. If there is no pattern there then it's just your body 'practising' for birth later on. If however they are coming frequently and showing no sign of stopping then it's time to call the midwife (or maternity unit).

Tilly I've just noticed you said 'for hours on end) as in it's permanently solid or is it on and off? You can have braxton hicks for hours on end but without a pattern and tummy should soften inbetween. Maybe baby's lying in a really awkward position? Little tinkers have a habit if doing that.

If it's like mine, then completely consistently solid, last night it was utterly rigid to touch for over two hours, so uncomfortable :(

He does spend a lot of time laying across my belly. And I seem to have a limb or two on show a lot so maybe it is him. I also find it's worse when I'm tired so maybe it's a sign I need to put my feet up?

It's my last day at work tomorrow so I can finally get a bit of rest. Maybe if that doesn't help I'll give the Maternity Unit a call and see what they say.

Maybe a bit of a walk around to see if that shifts them a little.

MrsCs that's exactly what mines like.

Juggling I'll have a waddle around the office and see if that helps...hopefully no one will spot me and give me a job to do!

Just tell them you think you're having contractions, they'll all kick into concerned mode.

Same here - just solid for ages, but definitely not contractions or Braxton Hicks. I'm 33 weeks too. I keep moving around, trying to find more comfortable positions, but nothing seems to make a difference :(

Mine is due to irritable uterus. Rock hard for hours and so painful. Nothing really can be done about it but please tell your midwife as she should be able to tell you if it could be that.

I hd that last time from 32 wks, ended up delivering at 37+0.

I get that but I thought it was baby stretching until a friend who's a nurse said it was probably BH. Only gets sore sometimes though and in one particular part -stretched muscles I think I was told.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. At least I know I'm not the only one. Hopefully it'll calm down next week after I've left work if not I'll definitely speak to my midwife about it. I had my first good night sleep in a while last night and, although it's still hard, it's a lot less uncomfortable. I'm thinking maybe it's a muscle issue as my bump is ENORMOUS and I'm quite dinky. I honestly don't know how I manage to stay upright!