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hi cookie ( i love cookie, i use it as a term of endearment frequently!) ok....braxton hicks are NOT painful. they definately are contractions and can get quite uncomfortable, but they are not painful. they are your body practicing for the real thing..your belly/uterus will get hard like a real contraction for about 30seconds to a minute, but again without pain. i have had so many lately that they put me on the monitors and ran a couple tests...everything was fine, sometimes women just have a lot of them. i also have had some cramping, but not during the BH. i was told this was normal, but i certainly would tell your dr.

Braxton Hicks will usually occur sooner and more frequently in subsequent pregnancies. They can indeed become somewhat painful (especially in subsequent pregnancies). The thing to look for is frequency. Keep a log for an hour. Write it down. If you notice a pattern (sometimes the pattern will vary 10 minutes between here and 12 between there) and they last longer than 30 seconds (usually 60+) you should probably call and talk to your nurse. They will likely want you to have a NST (non-stress test to be sure you aren't in real labor). Look for other signs too...any pink or brown tinged discharge? Any pelvic pressure? Do the contractions happen in the front and the back with an almost "menstral-like" feeling? All of these are questions a nurse will ask you. Good luck! Let us know what happens!

Hi girls, thanks for the info, beth, I haven't had any of the other signs...so I was pretty sure it wasn't real labor...but I will definitly call my midwife when it happens again...I had them again this morning...sometimes they are on the front...sometimes it radiates from my back to the front (those worry me the most b/c they mimic real contractions)...now I just ache on the lower part of my belly, but I think that is just stretching..lol...my baby is still transverse....thanks again...

You are welcome. I've been having the same kind of aching and it is really confusing! You do have to be careful b/c preterm labor symptoms do differ slightly from full term labor symptoms. Any pain that isn't going away on its own or with rest should be reported especially prior to 34 weeks (at this point most doctors will let you labor if you go into it on your own). Good luck!

Hi, so just an update..I had my midwife's appt today, and told her about my "braxton hicks" well apparantly they are not supposed to be painful (like take your breath away)...so she is concerned that I was actually having preterm labor...tomorrow, I'm going to see the OB, for a scan of the baby for growth, and also to see of the contractions have caused any effacement or dilation...she wasn't happy that I hadn't called, and told me the next time it happens to go the hospital right away..so they can see what they are...we live out in the boonies...so if I go into preterm labor, I will have to be rushed 2 1/2 hours to the City...so they take this stuff very seriously (last baby I had a big hospital right down the road, so I never really thought about the logistics)...hope this info helps anyone else with these symptoms...i'll keep you updated on my appt tomorrow...

so one more update, went to the dr today, had an ultrasound, the baby is fine, she is over 4 pounds, she is head down, but my cervix was still long, which is good, the dr said that it is possible what I was experiencing were Braxton Hicks, apparantly after your first pregancy, braxton hicks are alot stronger and come alot earlier...so i'm feeling alot better that I knew what it was all along...

hey i'm 37 weeks with my second baby, and i don't remember getting any BH contractions when i was preg with my first. nothing at all! but this time, for sure, all during the third trimester, i have had BH that range from that warm and crampy feeling in my lower belly to shooting pains up the sides of my belly, sometimes my whole uterus contracts and holds tight for a whole minute, sometimes it hurts, and sometimes it doesnt. I can dig that they're practice ones, now that i have been thru it all already, i know what the real ones feel like, and so i'm just keeping track if they get stronger or more frequent. so far they haven't.

That's funny cause I swear I had them last night. I had them maybe once or twice very mildly with my first. This felt more intense, though it being my 2nd, I know they are still nothing whatsoever like real contractions, however, it was uncomfortable enough that I go that 'oh sh*t' feeling. Just that uncomfortable feeling that reminded me of when I went into labor the first time and I felt a bit overwhelmed last night with going through it again - and I FLEW through my first labor with flying colors. My braxton hicks don't go to my back - my very lower stomach just felt hard as a rock and super uncomfortable then went away after about 15 minutes.