TTMA Braxton Hicks (STM)

[Sparkly]

Sit, drink water, put your feet up. If they don't go away or are accompanied by cramps, back pain, or any other symptoms of active labor, then you may want to call and at least go in for a check. My BH, and false labor as well, always went away within 1-2 hours. BH I usually needed to rest or to get better hydrated, and when it was false labor right before actual labor, they would actually stop from getting up and walking around.

[tarheelmom]

I had Braxton Hicks for 10 full days before my water broke with DD (at almost 39 weeks). They weren't time-able, but I had about 8-12 strong contractions every hour, day and night. I was 1.5cm at both my 36w appt and mt 38w appt, so they were definitely not real contractions. I had them on occasion earlier than that, but they would very sporadic.

My water broke 2.5 days after my 38w appt and I was 4cm with contractions 2min apart when I arrived at the hospital 2 hours later. It was 16 hours later (including 2hrs pushing) before DD was born.

[keen]

We just had this discussion last week in S15. I thought I'd been having painful BH for the last month(I'm almost 31 weeks with #2) but it turns out BH should NOT be painful. False/prodromal labor sounds way more likely, especially if if is erratic and does not worsen and if its mainly abdominal pain not reaching your lower back/thighs. When I went into preterm labor at 31 weeks last time, it was front, back, and thighs.

The only way to know for sure is to get a cervical check to see if the contractions are doing anything to open you up.

[keen]

Jul 15, 2015 15:29:27 GMT -5 FionaFiFoFum said:

Jul 15, 2015 14:45:12 GMT -5 keen said:

We just had this discussion last week in S15. I thought I'd been having painful BH for the last month(I'm almost 31 weeks with #2) but it turns out BH should NOT be painful. False/prodromal labor sounds way more likely, especially if if is erratic and does not worsen and if its mainly abdominal pain not reaching your lower back/thighs. When I went into preterm labor at 31 weeks last time, it was front, back, and thighs.

The only way to know for sure is to get a cervical check to see if the contractions are doing anything to open you up.

Thank You! That's helpful. I have a growth U/S and a regular appointment tomorrow so I'm going to see if they check my cervix then. I'm only having abdominal pain or pressure at this point. Nothing wrapping around to my back or down my legs so at least I'm relatively sure I'm not having real contractions. I did call the nurses line but haven't heard back yet. I'm not in any pain really today so fingers crossed it stays that way until tomorrow at least.

Oh good! Hopefully you can get some really, concrete peace of mind from your OB. In all honesty though, you are very nearly early term and baby would most likely be just fine if born next week. I had #1 at 37 weeks on the dot. She's perfect!

[mosy]

I had nonpainful contractions with DS starting around 30 weeks, and they regularly occurred after working a full day (I was a massage therapist at the time) or being active, so I had no doubt they were BH since they eventually stopped with rest and water. When I went to the hospital to be checked out after seeing blood in the toilet at 32 weeks, I was dilated 3 cm and they said I must have been having real contractions the whole time because I was in PTL.

So that freaked me out and consequently I feel like I know nothing about BH, but I thought I'd chime in because for me there was no clear difference between what I thought were BH contractions and real contractions (until I progressed further and the intensity of them increased).

[chuggingwater]

I never had contractions with #1 until cervadil kicked me into active labor (no pit, fast delivery, 0-baby in 2hrs 49min).

#2 I started having regular, consistent BH from 32 weeks to birth. Able to time them from 8-15 minutes for weeks.

#3, current pregnancy, I've been having 3-4 a day for about 2.5 weeks.

[chuggingwater]

BH shouldn't gain in intensity, only uncomfortable and annoying. If they wake you or you can't talk through them, probably not BH.

[mosy]

FionaFiFoFum, I'm glad you'll be talking to the dr soon, and I hope all is well!

[ladygray]

I had BH with my second for several weeks before going into labor. With my first I had zero BH. It was tough on me emotionally but didn't hurt. Good luck mama.