How many Braxton Hicks contractions are normal?

[Secretlifeofme]

I'm 36 weeks pregnant and starting to get more and more Braxton Hicks, especially in the evenings. This evening (not in UK by the way) I have been having them about every 20 mins for two or three hours. I don't think they are 'real' contractions because they seem to have stopped now, but is this normal and could it be a sign that labour is near?

I tell a lie... they're back!

I've heard that up to 4 times an hour is normal - if they're more frequent than that, they could be real contractions instead. So it sounds like you're within the threshold at the moment, but keep an eye on it!

Do they stop when you change activity? Are they painful! Are they just on the bump or in your back?

Thank you both for replies! Yes they do stop when I change activity and they're just in my bump. I think I'm OK for now but the frequency has definitely increased in the last week or so.

What number pregnancy is this for you?
In second and subsequent pregnancies BH can be much more frequent and intense.

I was getting BH really regularly in the evenings from around 36-37 weeks.
I'd get about an hour or 2 when they would come and go every 10-20mins.
It was rubbish and frustrating. Definitely nothing to do with labour for me though as I had ds on his due date.

This is the first pregnancy I've carried to term, but my fourth in total. All the others ended way before BH would have begun though, all between 6 and 12 weeks, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference @Newyearsameoldshit?

@Frizzy1986 that's exactly what's happening to me! Maybe it's not linked in that case

Sorry for your losses Secret, must be amazing to be here at 36 weeks!
A happy and healthy last leg to you x

It really is, thank you so much! It took me until about 30 weeks to believe it was actually happening haha