Pregnancy Info HOME

Headaches are common towards the end of pregnancy. My doctor asks me do i have them everytime i go to my weekly appt. As far as the BH contractions (this is my 1st pregnancy as well...so you may get better info from a veteran) yes your uterus gets really really tight and hard. Im 38wks2days and i have been having BH more regularly now. They have also become more uncomfortable for me. Like i will have to change positions or something. Unfortunately i havent had any real contractions yet... I havent had any progress towards labor so...i dont know about that one

SHALA- i feel sorry for you! I know you are so ready to have your little guy here and you're just hearing you're having a good pregnancy but not hearing much in terms of getting closer to labor!!! But like i told you before it is just going to hit you!!! you're not gonna show any advancement and then BAM it is just going to happen all at once for you!!! you'll see!!! =) But thanks for the info on the headaches...

Don't forget, "False Labor" also falls into the Braxton Hicks category. Abdominal and Back pain with tightening sounds like full on contractions, but if they're irregular or too far apart its going to be considered "false labor"/BH as well, even though BH is usually considered just the tightening without the pain.

So when you have backpain with contractions does it come and go with the contraction or does the back pain stay? because my back pain is really not going away... I have just taken tylenol as well to see if that will help EASE the pain and it hasn't kicked in yet...

My midwife says that it could be considered "early" labor because she doesn't consider any labor to be false. It's working to dilate and efface your cervix and get your uterus toned up now. So think of it as very early labor. But until it gets regular I guess they're technically BH. Too confusing.

Rainbow...believe me i hope that you are right...i would like to be awakened from my sleep with full fledge labor pains lol. i would be scared but happy too lol

I'm about to have my second child and there's a couple of differences I've noted. BH usually occur when you're doing something (walking, getting up, bending down, climbing stairs, etc..). Contractions happen when you're doing nothing and feel different (pulling from back to front). They also can occur on a timed basis (example: every 7 mins). Hope that helps!

Hi. Everyones different. I had the BH tightenings for a few weeks before giving birth. The BH I the day before I went in to labour were a bit more frequent, and came with this urge that felt like I wanted to go for a No 2 - a real pressure feeling! - this lasted the afternoon and evening - but I didnt think I was in labour!, they then suddenly got painful in the early hours of the following morning... and I gave birth about 5 hours later.

You are right on the braxton hicks, they should be painful, just very uncomfortable. When I got them it was my entire stomache, and it was be ROCK hard. You might have a sore back well because you are carrying how much extra weight? my back was sore 24/7 when I was that far. Contractions, they are very painful. They start out like period cramps, something you can handle. Then over time they get stronger and stronger and will last longer. They are very hard to explain if youve never had them... but thats the best way I can describe. hopefully youll get lucky like me and just have your water break so you dont have to guess on when to go to the hospital :-) As far as headaches that is common during the entire pregnancy, its due to hormone changes or something. I doubt that has anything to do with labor. Good luck!

oh and one more thing I wanted to say too! For the back pain, when its due to contractions TRUST ME you will know. When I was in labor my back was hurting so bad, I thought it was broken... the only thing the help the pain was sitting on one of those b___s! so FYI all of you, if your back hurts sit on those bouncy ball things that they have there, it helps ALOT.

I am in my first pregnancy and am 34 weeks, but I've been having BH contractions for about 2 months...I'm on half days of bed rest because of them...and the only way I can describe them is like someone has shrink-wrapped your belly...b/c the baby is so big now, when I have one it is almost as if I can feel the contours of the baby b/c my belly becomes so tight and hard. If you are having a bunch, they can become painful and not just uncomfortable, but from what I understand, they are nothing like real labor contractions, esp. in the pain category. I feel like an expert on them b/c I've been having them for so long, but I can't compare them to real contractions....I hope this helps! :)