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Definition, What They Feel Like, and Triggers

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

In this Article

• What Are Braxton Hicks Contractions?
• What Do Braxton Hicks Contractions Feel Like?
• Triggers of Braxton Hicks Contractions
• How Do Braxton Hicks Contractions Compare With True Labor Contractions?
• Other Abdominal Pain During Pregnancy
• When to Call Your Doctor
• Treatment of Braxton Hicks Contractions

What Are Braxton Hicks Contractions?

Braxton Hicks contractions are the "false" labor pains that a pregnant woman might have before “true” labor. They’re your body's way of getting ready for the real thing. But they don’t mean labor has started or is about to begin.

What Do Braxton Hicks Contractions Feel Like?

Some women describe Braxton Hicks contractions as tightening in their belly that comes and goes. Many say they feel like mild menstrual cramps. Braxton Hicks contractions may be uncomfortable, but they don’t cause labor or open your cervix.

Unlike true labor, Braxton Hicks contractions:

• Usually aren’t painful
• Don’t have a regular pattern
• Don’t get closer together
• Don’t last longer as they go on
• Don’t get stronger over time
• May stop when you change activities or positions
• Are felt only in your belly
• Taper off and disappear

You may have Braxton Hicks contractions during your third trimester of pregnancy or as early as your second trimester. They’re normal and nothing to worry about.

Triggers of Braxton Hicks Contractions

Dehydration is the most common cause of Braxton Hicks contractions. Other triggers include:

• Illness that causes nausea or vomiting
• The fetus’s movement
• The mother’s activity, especially lifting something or having sex

How Do Braxton Hicks Contractions Compare With True Labor Contractions?

To figure out whether your contractions are the real thing and you're going into labor, ask yourself these questions.

How often do the contractions happen?

• False labor: Contractions are often irregular and don’t get closer together.
• True labor: Contractions come at regular intervals and last about 30 to 70 seconds. As time goes on, they get stronger and closer together.

Do they change when you move?

• False labor: Contractions may stop when you walk or rest. They may go away if you change positions.
• True labor: Contractions continue even after you move, change positions, or try to rest.

How strong are they?

• False labor: Contractions are usually weak and don't get much stronger. Or they may be strong at first and then get weaker.
• True labor: Contractions get stronger at a steady pace.

Where do you feel the pain?

• False labor: You usually feel it only in the front of your belly or pelvis.
• True labor: Contractions may start in your lower back and move to the front of your abdomen. Or they may start in your abdomen and move to your back.

Other Abdominal Pain During Pregnancy

Sharp, shooting pains on the sides of your belly are called round ligament pain. This happens because the ligaments that support your uterus and attach to your pelvis get stretched as your uterus grows.

Round ligament pain tends to happen with movement, like standing up, rolling over, coughing, sneezing, or even urinating. The pain may also move into your groin. It typically lasts only a few seconds or minutes.

To ease round ligament pain:

• Change your position or activity. It might help to lie on your opposite side.
• Support your belly when you stand or roll over. Move more slowly.
• Try to rest. A hot bath or heating pad may help.

When to Call Your Doctor

Early in your pregnancy, talk to your doctor about what may or may not be expected and when you might need to call them.

If you're not sure that what you're feeling may be labor, call your doctor or midwife. They should be available at any time to answer questions and discuss your concerns.

Call your doctor or midwife right away if you have:

• Any vaginal bleeding
• Constant fluid leaks, or if your water breaks (this can be gushing or trickling fluid)
• Strong contractions every 5 minutes for an hour
• Contractions that you can’t "walk through"
• A distinct change in your baby's movement, or if you feel fewer than 10 movements every 2 hours
• Any signs of true labor before 37 weeks of pregnancy

Treatment of Braxton Hicks Contractions

You don't have to do anything for these contractions. If they’re making you uncomfortable, try one of these tips:

• Drink water.
• Take a walk. False labor contractions often stop when you change position or get up and move.
• If you've been active, take a nap or rest.
• Relax by taking a warm bath or listening to music.
• Get a massage.

Health & Pregnancy Guide

1. Getting Pregnant
2. First Trimester
3. Second Trimester
4. Third Trimester
5. Labor and Delivery
6. Pregnancy Complications
7. All Guide Topics

What are training bouts? | VOKB №1

As you know, the birth of a baby is preceded by labor pains. Contractions are contractions of the walls of the uterus - a natural physiological process.

It is not uncommon for the uterus to contract during pregnancy, but many women do not notice this. And those who are preparing to become mothers for the first time, on the contrary, perceive these contractions as a danger to the course of pregnancy and the unborn child. Therefore, it is very important that every pregnant woman be informed about training bouts at the earliest possible date. Women who have undergone theoretical training are more attentive to their health and observe the changes taking place. They can recognize for themselves when they are having training contractions and know how to respond to them.

Training contractions (or false contractions) are contractions of the uterine walls that do not dilate the cervix. They are for the female body a preparatory stage for future childbirth. False contractions are very important for labor, as they help smooth and soften the cervix and prepare it for the upcoming birth. The duration of muscle tension can be about 2 minutes. And their frequency of manifestation is up to several times per hour. False contractions do not increase in frequency or intensity. The term of occurrence occurs in the second and third trimester.

Main symptoms of training contractions:

1. Feeling of constriction and aching pain in the groin and lower abdomen.
2. Irregularity and irregularity of contractions.
3. Appear in only one area of ​​the abdomen.
4. Contractions can occur up to 6 times per hour.
5. False contractions do not radiate to the back, as happens with real contractions.
6. Does not cause severe pain. Inattentive women may not even notice such contractions.
7. Gradually disappear. After a small amount of time, the uterus calms down and becomes soft.

Reasons for the appearance of training contractions:

1. excessive activity, physical activity;
2. moving actions of the developing fetus
3. psycho-emotional stress, worries and worries due to future childbirth;
4. Bladder fullness;
5. Having sex during pregnancy.

In most cases, a woman can avoid training uterine contractions on her own. Pregnant women need to drink the required amount of water, not be nervous and remain calm until the very birth. It is not recommended to call training bouts on your own, because. the body is individual, and if false contractions do not appear, then there is no need for training for the body.

But if symptoms appear, they must be used for the purpose of practicing breathing exercises. Proper breathing will help alleviate the condition of the pregnant woman during labor.

Several methods of correct breathing:

1. After the end of the contraction, take a deep breath, and exhale slowly during the contraction.
2. Inhale slowly and deeply through the nose, then exhale briefly through the mouth.
3. Take frequent, shallow breaths during the next contraction. However, this method, due to the low supply of oxygen, can lead to dizziness

What to do if you have training contractions?

1. Turn on relaxing music, calm down and tune in to positive thoughts.
2. Get into a comfortable position
3. Go for a light, leisurely walk
4. Drink enough water;
5. Do breathing exercises
6. Take a warm shower;

Alarms

Distinguish symptoms that require medical attention. To exclude and prevent the development of dangerous pathologies, with slight discomfort in the lower abdomen, you should consult a doctor.

When you need to see a doctor urgently:

1. severe pain in the back and lower abdomen;
2. bloody, mucous or watery discharge;
3. reduced fetal activity;
4. increased frequency of spasms
5. bleeding

With a normal intensity of the manifestation of training contractions, you don’t need to worry, because the body itself is preparing for the upcoming happy event - the birth of your baby!

Alekhina S.V. - senior nurse of the Perinatal Center

Bulgakova O.V. - senior midwife of the department of pregnancy pathology No. 3

Training contractions during pregnancy

What are training contractions

Childbirth takes place in three periods: disclosure, expulsion and afterbirth. During the first of them, the uterus contracts, and its cervix opens. Contractions of the uterus during childbirth are called true or labor pains.

A few weeks before giving birth, the precursor period begins, during which the cervix softens and flattens, and the woman feels uterine contractions - training contractions. Many, especially those who are preparing to become a mother for the first time, are frightened by these sensations, taking them for the onset of childbirth and go to the hospital in vain.

False contractions are uterine contractions that do not dilate the cervix. Usually a woman feels tension in her stomach and if she tries to feel the uterus, the organ will seem very hard to her. Sensations during training bouts last from a few seconds to two minutes. Such contractions are painless, some patients feel only slight discomfort. In addition, this condition occurs irregularly.

If the pain during contractions becomes severe, it is necessary to calculate how much time passes between them. If the intervals become the same, then labor begins and it is necessary to go to the hospital.

When practice contractions start

False contractions may appear from the twentieth week of pregnancy, but often women do not feel them. Many pregnant women do not experience false contractions throughout their term, and their appearance at a later date is often frightening. Therefore, it is necessary to know the differences between false and true contractions.

How to distinguish false contractions from labor