What do contractions feel like?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

When a pregnancy comes to an end, women are often in anxious anticipation. It is far from always possible to accurately calculate the date of childbirth, so you need to know the signs of their onset. And the most important sign is contractions. The pregnant woman will need to recognize these muscle contractions. What do contractions feel like?

Ninth month pregnant

At the ninth month of fetal development, he is ready for birth. His body is formed. Babies born after the 37th week are considered full-term if they weigh more than 2.5 kg, are more than 46 cm tall, their skin is pink and smooth, devoid of lubrication residue, and their genitals are formed. In addition, full-term babies have a well-developed subcutaneous fat layer, the navel is in the middle of the abdomen, and not below. The baby is ready to work all the internal organs. His brain is covered with a complex system of furrows and convolutions, and his work allows the born to make reflex movements.

The main reflexes that should appear in a newborn are sucking, proboscis, grasping, searching, support reflex and protective reflex.

A woman's body is actively preparing for childbirth. The circumference of the abdomen becomes maximum and can reach 100 cm, however, expectant mothers notice that it has become easier for them to breathe, and heartburn has decreased. The fact is that the stomach drops slightly down due to the lowering of the uterus into the pelvic cavity. True, this can cause other uncomfortable sensations - heaviness in the lower abdomen, dull pain in the pubic area and sacrum.

Also, many women feel uncomfortable walking towards the end of their pregnancy. But, of course, one of the most characteristic signs that a pregnancy is coming to an end is contractions.

What are they like?

Contractions are training and true, that is, prenatal. Of course, it is important to be able to distinguish between them. What contractions look like depends precisely on the nature of this phenomenon.

So, training contractions of Braxton-Hicks can appear quite early - as early as the 20th week. Their time of appearance is individual, and the absence is not a sign of pathology.

What are practice bouts like? They are paroxysmal contractions of the muscles of the uterus, which last about 30-60 seconds. Their frequency can be very different - from several times a day to several times within an hour. The uterus is so tense that it can be felt through the abdominal wall. Sometimes visually it looks like a pointed shape of the abdomen and resembles the protrusion of the head of a child.

Symptoms

What are the most obvious symptoms of these contractions? What are these feelings like? They alwayscause a feeling of tightness in the abdomen, and it can be localized in different places - in the upper part of the uterus, in the groin, on the right or left.

These sensations are concentrated in one area, while in true contractions they are given through the entire abdomen to the lower back. Usually they are not too frequent, for example, it is uncommon for them to occur more than 6 times per hour. In addition, they are irregular and unpredictable. The intervals between such contractions are irregular.

Training contractions tend to fade and disappear. The most important distinguishing feature is the absence of pain or its mild severity. If we compare what contractions before childbirth look like and how training contractions manifest themselves, then in the second case there is never unbearable pain.

What causes practice contractions

Despite the fact that these tensions in the uterus are a normal, physiological phenomenon, it is still better not to provoke them once again. Some situations cannot be avoided and there is no need to worry about this. But it's still better to know what can cause these sensations. They are provoked by both the physical activity of the mother and the rapid stirring of the child. In addition, their cause may be the emotional state of a woman. Dehydration, bladder fullness and orgasm during sex affect the state of the uterus.

Breathing exercises

Not all scientists agree that false contractions are uterine training before childbirth. Some believe that they are just a reaction of the body to hormonal changes. But theyprovide an opportunity to practice breathing exercises, which will then help facilitate childbirth:

• Economical breathing - exhaling slowly and deeply during contraction, and after that - a deep breath. After the fight, repeat everything.
• Doggy Style - It's not hard to imagine this type of breathing if you imagine how dogs breathe in the heat. However, it is not necessary to stick out the tongue for this. The essence of the exercise is the frequency and shallowness of breathing. So you need to breathe during a fight. It is only important to understand that you should not breathe like a dog for more than 20-30 seconds, otherwise it can cause dizziness.
• Candle - a deep slow breath through the nose and a sharp, short exhalation through the mouth. Like blowing out a candle.

How to relieve the condition

A slow walk will help to relax the muscles of the uterus. A warm shower or bath is helpful in this situation. In addition, sometimes tension arises from an uncomfortable posture and it is enough just to change it. It does not hurt to drink water, juice or fruit drink, do breathing exercises.

Relaxation of the uterus can also cause a general relaxation of the whole body in a comfortable position, with pleasant music.

True contractions

What are labor contractions like? Oddly enough, often they can strongly resemble false contractions, which misleads many. But, one way or another, it is always a strong muscle contraction.

What contractions look like at the very beginning is a very individual question. All women feel differently. It depends, for example, on the position of the baby in the uterus. Atsome have mild aching pains in the lumbar region, which gradually cover the abdomen and the entire lower half of the body. Other women, when asked what pain during labor is like, answer that it is symptoms that appear during menstruation.

Pain can be combined with a feeling of a petrified uterus. It is well felt outside, through a stomach. The uterus is really hard to the touch. True, such signs can also be observed with false contractions. What is the difference then?

Distinguishing Features

True contractions are still more painful. An important criterion for the difference is the frequency of these sensations. Contractions occur regularly, the time intervals at first can be in the region of 10-12 minutes. Then this process happens more and more often. The pain gets worse each time.

While during false contractions pain often occurs in the abdomen, with true contractions it often begins in the back, lower back and only then spreads to the stomach. Reviews of what contractions look like suggest that the pain can be quite strong, but still not so much that it is worth fearing.

If there is a suspicion that labor is about to begin, it is worth arming yourself with a stopwatch. It is necessary to measure the duration of the contractions themselves and the intervals between them. The duration of sensations will increase, and the gaps will decrease.

In addition, true contractions do not disappear and are not weakened by walking, taking a bath or changing positions, like false ones. They all continue to increase and intensify.

Othersigns

In addition to contractions, there are other symptoms of the onset of labor. They, too, should not be overlooked:

1. There may be pain in the stomach and intestines, reminiscent of poisoning.
2. In addition, before childbirth, the mucous plug comes out. It looks like thick yellowish or white vaginal discharge. True, the cork can come out 3-7 days before the onset of labor.
3. And watery discharge, in theory, should not be yet. They talk about premature discharge of amniotic fluid. In this case, you need to urgently go to the hospital.
4. Also, bloody or brown discharge will be a reason for urgent hospitalization. If the water leaks slightly, then the amniotic sac most likely burst at the top. If they flow strongly and flow out in a few minutes, then at the bottom. In both cases, the baby should be born within 12 hours. If this does not happen, a caesarean section is performed.

When water leaks, do not douche, take a bath, do an enema, shave the crotch. The rupture of the membranes can lead to the fact that the child can quickly get an infection, and these procedures can provoke its spread.

In addition, it is undesirable to eat well and drink a lot, as there is a high probability of an operation - a caesarean section. It can be done under general anesthesia and is safest on an empty stomach.

Female behavior

Here, finally, the mother-to-be is armed with information about what contractions look like. If it becomes clear that regular contractions have come, you need to go to the hospital. It is best to be hospitalized when the interval between contractions is 5-7 minutes. Then the woman will not spend too much time in the hospital, but will not be late either.

There, during the period of contractions, it is best for a woman to try to relax and be distracted. You can't push yet. In addition, do not sit at this time. In a sitting position, the head of the child is squeezed. It is also undesirable to lie down all the time. If the condition of the body allows, it is better to walk between contractions - this way the cervix opens faster.

Phases of the contractions period: latent

What does the start of contractions look like? This phase begins when regular contractions are established and ends with the smoothing of the cervix and dilation by 3-4 cm.

Uterine contractions last from 20 to 45 seconds, and the breaks between them can be about 15 minutes. This phase is called latent because all sensations are not so pronounced. Severe pain is usually not observed. It lasts about 6 hours.

Active phase

At this time, labor activity becomes more intense and violent. The cervix dilates much faster. In 3-4 hours it opens up to 8 cm.

What are contractions like in this phase? The sensations are much more painful now. Contractions become longer - up to a minute, and the intervals between them reach only 2-4 minutes. If the fetal bladder remains intact at the end of this phase, it is opened artificially.

Deceleration phase

This phase is not always present. It is typical for primiparas. With repeated births, it may be absent or very short. At the first birth, it can last from 40 minutes to 2 hours.

The contractions last from one to one and a half minutes, the interval can be as little as a minute. This phase ends with maximum opening. Usually it is about 10 cm.

But all the difficulties and discomfort experienced recede when a mother can see a miracle - her newborn baby! Some psychologists even believe that the more experienced and the more effort invested, the more people appreciate what has been achieved. Therefore, the pain experienced during childbirth, oddly enough, does not cause anger and rejection towards the child, but awakens the maternal instinct.