Braxton Hicks

Dr. John Braxton Hicks

Remember when I mentioned I had these weird menstrual-like cramps while in Maui? Well I think they were in combination with some Braxton Hicks contractions. The midwife said that the cramps were probably just from my body stretching and growing but what I totally left out was that when I lay down I could feel my uterus tighten up. It wasn't painful at all but odd because it was as if I could feel exactly where my uterus was. It was like there was an eggplant-sized stone in my abdomen. I have felt this maybe twice before minus the menstrual cramping, that's why I think they were two different things going on at once. In last Monday's birthing class I mentioned the funny cramps and a fellow pregnant lady asked if it was round ligament pain - which would be like a quick, sharp, stabbing pain. Nope, not that, although I've experienced that several times so far. Another asked if my uterus tightened up and that's when I remembered that that happened. The Instructor later on brought up Braxton Hicks contractions which I had read about but for some reason I thought that those happened closer to the delivery date, apparently not. The instructor also said that sometimes the uterus will tighten up and you can almost feel the shape of the baby. WILD! I just feel stones and purple vegetables, no baby shapes yet. She also has a theory that is just from her experience of being a midwife and mother, nothing scientific, that the BH contractions help a mother strengthen the uterus muscles and prepare them for true labor. If that's the case then bring it on Braxton Hicks! I need all the help I can get.

After our class I did a little more reading up on BH contractions. Apparently they can happen as early as 6 weeks into your pregnancy but that you don't often feel them at that point. I felt my first ones before I felt the baby move, so maybe between 4-5 months is when I first felt that funny shape in my abdomen. They were not painful at all for me, just a funny feeling when you put your hands on your belly. Sometimes they can become painful and confusing towards the end of your pregnancy which is why some people confuse them for true labor contractions. They are different from true labor contractions in that there is no regularity to them, they don't get stronger with walking, the intervals between them don't decrease and the length of time does not increase.

In our second birthing class Mike asked with a furrowed brow and sincere tone, "Are you able to describe what labor and giving birth feels like? Just so we can have a better understanding of what our partner might be experiencing." The instructor said, "No." Ha! and then she went on to say, "Some women say it feels like menstrual cramping times 100. But it's pretty much an out of body experience that mothers tend to block out and forget afterwards." Sorry Mikey.