What do Braxton Hicks feel like?

[FrannyandZooey]

I never had any with ds. Am 37 weeks, and a couple of times a day I am getting this quite oofy sweeping pain all around the bottom of my bump
it builds up like a burning feeling and lasts for a few minutes
is it BH?

I found they make my bump feel suddenly very 'heavy'. Other women describe them as as like a belt tightening around their bump.

They shouldn't really feel painful, but in the later stages of pregnancy, they would make me stop in my tracks.

Another possibility is that the pain is caused by a urinary tract infection - this can cause braxton hicks.

Have you had a bath? Braxton hicks should stop if you take a bath.

sounds like bh to me - i got them and was in a constant 'is it isn;t it' state for - um - about 3 weeks!

ok yes heavy and belt tightening both feel about right
I just thought they would only last as long as a regular contraction but seems to be several minutes
or do contractions last several minutes? god I can't remember [fear]

i remember them as being long and annoying. Normal contractions are really brief and smell of strawberries and make you glow with happiness.

I think BH can last quite a while. Once you're in full blown labour, then the uterus contracts far more efficiently and contractions will be shorter.

They could be BH (which don't do anything muuch) or practice contractions (which get baby into a good position, start preparing the cervix) - these can occur for a couple of weeks before labour.

Lets hope you don't go into labour before 38 weeks if you still want a home birth!

belgo I read up on the homebirth site all about it and I think we are going to go for staying at home (if I feel like it) even if am not 38 weeks
my doula says no problem with her
it seemed they worry about breathing difficulties but is unwarranted when you look at the stats, also the very few babies who do have breathing difficulties mostly just need oxygen, which the midwives will have anyway
apparently

I don't feel like I am going into labour yet anyway

Bee are you bonkers
normal contractions are insane and make the world shake and throw you all around the room and leave you in a messy overawed heap on the floor

um, i was trying to be nice i think.

i do think that contractions are good viewed as part of the process and the pain helps you build up a heady amount of endrophins in the blood stream.

If at all possible if you can and you brain is in gear between the last few contractions relax and think about how you feel and you will find you are on the best and most heady legitmate high there is going. I did this with dd - is crazy.

are you going to look at the head when it is out after 1st contraction and body still inside - this is mind blowingly weirder than weird - or am i talking in to real terms?

oh no sounds wonderful Bee
ds's birth was nothing like that at all so I cannot join in with your raptures

Message withdrawn

ah but franny i was same you see - ds's birth all medically rushing nad confusion and stuff.

dd's birth all relaxed and weird and a nice memory.

I was much better for knowing wha was going on and what i was doing and second time round i felt i - dunno - kind of 'trusted' my body more.

what is wrong with arse sitting?
the OP thing?
I am knackered and my pelvis hurts
I deserve to do some arse sitting

F&Z - mine feel like burning/tugging/poking as well as the tightening. The worst ones go right down the back of my legs, up my back and around my stomach rather like being grabbed and bitten by a boa constrictor while being squodged in a vice.

Oh and my midwife keeps telling me this is 'great news' because 'every practice contraction is one less of the real thing'.

I'm suitably dubious about this!

LOL
yes she is telling you porkies isn't she

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I said all the way though the second trimester 'once I get to the third trimester I'll only sit on the birth ball or backwards on a chair'.

me too WMMC
aw Pruni don't tell me this
it's been in a lovely position every time anyone checked
don't tell me it is going to swing round now
I want to sit on my arse laid back

and I honestly can't do half those things, I've got SPD
there are about 1.5 positions in the world that are comfortable for me to be in and sitting back with feet up is one of them

Oh F&Z I feel for you, when my SPD gets bad I can't physically turn over at all in bed and you get a bad BH and can't even move to ease that so I just lie there are groan.

DH asked me the other night if I was having sexy dreams because he was in the spare room and all he could hear was me moaning all night

Message withdrawn

Pruni going over the birth ball is alright
how long should I be doing it for? are you saying I should NEVER be sitting back?

bizarrely it has got lots BETTER
can walk much more easily over last week - was convinced this must mean baby had turned breech or something but no, it is ok
what do you think that could mean Pruni? the physio said it would inevitably get worse as the baby moved down

Mine got better with DD as well in the last two weeks. It was weird. I went from in a wheelchair to being able to waddle around quite comfortably .

oh WMMC I am such a whinger
mine has not been that bad at all
last week walking really was getting to be a big chore and now it is mostly only a small chore
but I am really sorry you suffered like that with yours
did you ever work out what caused the improvement? as I am stumped

I feel for the pair of you.
WMMC come to oxford let me get you a hot chocolate.

Nope and this time it's not half as bad, but I reckon that's partly that I learned so much about it, I know how to move to avoid making it worse and my posture is better.

I'm hypermobile though so a certain amount of it is down to how many previous injuries I have at the time of conception! This time I've only dislocated one hip in the last six months, last time I did both and matching ankles and knees.