Can anyone describe contractions?

[RLou3]

Hi all,

Due date is tomorrow and I'm working myself up.. I had acupuncture yesterday, followed by a tiny bit of mucusy blood a few hours later.. ive been having period pain bellyaches for 2/3 weeks now... felt unbelievably nauseous last night and was sure I was about to start... but then nothing... I just wondered if anyone can describe what contractions feel like... everyone I've asked can't seem to describe but tell me "you'll just know"... also can anyone relate to my symptoms, and went into labour shortly after?

Thanks (can't bare the not knowing/ waiting 😩)

Like normal period pains. But have always have bad period pain

Also had no break in pain. Just solid pain til I gave birth. I didn't know that was a possibility

Mine was all in my back, felt like my spine was being crushed. I went 2cm to 6cm in under an hour though as had a short fast labour and it was almost continuous from the start so not typical. It was nothing like I imagined. Horrifically painful, I thought I was dying but it was mercifully short.
It’ll all be fine OP, however it happens and you don’t need to know straight away, it will all become apparent!

I think conclusion here is its very different for everyone.

I am 36 weeks with number 3. Only 16 months between 1 & 2 and 2.5 yrs between 2 & 3.

In all honesty I can't really remember the exact feeling... and even after my first spent a lot of time going is this it.

The truth is, and I'm sorry, but you really do know when it is. My first started when they (unexpectedly) broke my waters in hospital and was hard and fast with very little break.

My 2nd was totally natural (had a sweep, bloody show over 3 days first). I'd been up (half asleep) about 20 mins in the night for a pee. In hindsight I think I was probably having contractions in my sleep but didn't translated it as needing a pee as they weren't bad.

At 5.30am I had the first pain that I thought oooo was that a contraction. Very randomly, at that exact moment my DH (who'd taken no notice all night) suddenly rolled over, put his arm on me in a panic and asked if I was okay. Baby was born 5 hours later (but all very relaxed and easy, with showers before we left and an hour drive to the hospital). I'd had a lot of false alarms but that morning I got up and called my mum at 6am to come and look after DC1. I just knew. (Again sorry)

For me it felt like someone putting a hand inside me and wringing and twisting my internal organs like you would squeeze water out of a flannel. Absolutely nothing like period pains.

@UpSlyDown

It’s the weirdest thing that you feel absolutely fine between them and get that ‘oh no…oh noooo another one!’ Feeling as they build up and then tail off. For me it was like a really severe period cramp but really really low down. FWIW I ‘enjoyed’ Labour both times (far more looking back than in the moment ) and had the most amazing sense of ‘I’m doing it! Experiencing Labour!’. I can’t describe it but it felt quite empowering and it made me feel connected to other mothers who have gone through it.

This is the perfect description. The first time started with an upset tummy for me, and went on for days. In between contractions I was fine, but the contractions had me lowing like a cow in pain. I felt like I had some control over the contractions initially, but like a PP said, better to let them wash over you as it's just your body doing its thing and getting the baby out.

Good luck! It's such a magical time ✨

@stairway

When they start coming it is important not to give into the pain.

What does that even mean? Don't respond to it? Don't find it hard? Don't struggle? I'm not sure. I do know that when I found my first labour impossible (despite doing everything "right" btw - at home, in water, hypnobirthing, believing in my body etc), I felt like I'd failed. I ended up with ptsd and pnd. I then had another baby and the contractions didn't hurt a bit, despite registering on the machine as stronger. I know now that it's foolhardy at best and damaging at worst, to tell anybody what they should or shouldn't think, feel or experience during labour and delivery. I had no waves, no peaks, no gaps, no build in intensity. My body didn't know what to do. I couldn't give birth, my body wasn't made to do it. Thanks to modern medicine, I'm alive but without two emcs, neither I nor my dc would be here.

What is important is not that we tell women what they should or should not do but that we empower them with good knowledge and then support them and listen when labour happens.

Good luck op, there's a vast spectrum of experience and the baby is almost certainly worth wherever you land on that scale!

The experience of contractions is also completely different if your baby is back to back.

With normal labour where the baby is positioned properly, the head is pushing into your cervix (which itself doesn't have very many nerve endings in it) which helps it dilate and so the contractions are around the front where your womb is helping to push the baby down. Gravity and all that active birth stuff helps because it increases the pressure on the cervix causing it to dilate faster and get labour over with quicker.

If the baby is back to back, the pointy bit of their head is not pushing into your cervix, so there's no pressure on the cervix. It will still dilate, but nowhere near as fast so labour can go on forever with hardly any progress being made. The head is pushing into the base of your spine, which means that you'll feel the contractions all in your back/sometimes radiating around your entire body and they can be much more intense and painful.

If this is the case then you're better off on all fours in order to "hang" the baby away from your spine and help take the pressure off. You should also apparently do absolutely anything that helps you relax, including an epidural or pethidine if the pain is too unbearable. This enables your body to open up and the baby is more likely to turn or at least engage properly in your pelvis, even if they are still back to back.

I wish I had known this before my last two labours as they were both like this and I had no idea. I'm going in fully expecting this baby to be back to back as well. If he isn't then I'll be very happy but I'm definitely reading up on the back labour management tips. Just assuming at this point my womb is shaped that way :o

It was so confusing because I remember reading things like "There will be parts of your body which are not in pain" WHAT? People experience that in labour?? Or even just watching videos/reading birth stories and wondering how the hell they weren't as out of control and panicky as I was both times. Or how they were so lucid in between contractions. I was just barely recovering and in some kind of pain hormone haze in between mine and didn't have time to do/think/say anything before it would start again.

Started as extremely strong period type cramps; or the feeling like if you have a stomach/diarrhoea bug and you really need to have a poo type cramps

Mine was intense pain at the bottom of my bump & slightly down my legs which very similar to my period pain.

My back didn't hurt at all but I did have diarrhoea for a few hours before the contractions got really strong.

My waters didn't go until I was almost pushing.

I didn't realise I was in labour at first. I had really bad back ache and I couldn't get comfortable. This went on for about 6 hours. Then I got checked and I was 3cm so they popped my waters. As soon as my waters went (I had a lot of waters) the contractions moved to my front and actually stopped me in my tracks. It's almost like an intense pulling in your stomach/back area that will last then go then come back.

I didn't find them that painful luckily I was expecting it to be horrendous but I did have gas and air to help ease the pain a little bit.

Good luck.

My first symptom of labour was I couldn't get off the toilet. I kept going for a number 2!

Oh DS was also back to back but they didn't realise until I was trying to push for a couple of hours. They just turned him around and he was out within the hour.

I did dilate once my waters were popped in 1.5/2hrs I went from 3cm-10cm but I spent most of the time on all fours or hanging off the bed.

I think it is hard to predict when it really starts but you do have promising symptoms!

And contractions felt like someone is grabbing everything in my core in the lower belly/back and bum area and twisting it hard.
The pain was intense in active labor and definitely couldn't talk or interact or do anything throughout. Shower just made it worse.
Breathing veryyyy slowly and holding onto something helped go through each wave though instead of panicking. Ultimately only epidural really helped.

Nothing in the 2 minutes between contractions though. And they come slowly literally like a wave with a peak and come down. Which is good to figure out so you brave yourself each time and also at the pushing stage if you don't want people to tell you when to do it but rather push when you feel it coming.

It is an amazing experience despite the intensity! Only gave birth 2 months ago but would do it again 😊

Depends on the person.

For me they WERE FUCKING NOT tightening or waves... They were the worst pains in the world like a red hot poker twisting in me hurting everything in my abdomen and back that resulted in EMCS.. ELCS next time!!!!

Like someone was trying to rip my spine out. Fucking horrific. But I was in back to back labour on the induction drip.