How easy is it to move contractions? Contractions in primiparas. Contractions: how to understand that they have begun?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 22:35

How easy is it to move contractions, and what is it all about? As a rule, future mothers begin to think about this when the long nine months of waiting come to an end. When the ninth month comes to an end, it becomes much easier for the mother to breathe, as the immense belly is already sinking.

An alarming suitcase is already ready, the documents for the maternity hospital are in the most visible place and are waiting for such a long-awaited trip. The expectant mother begins to have new sensations. Especially primiparas start to panic.

How to understand that the contractions have begun? After all, they don’t always talk about the onset of labor.

Training bouts and harbingers

How to distinguish real contractions from training ones? The latter begin to be noted by pregnant women, starting from the fifth month of pregnancy. They appear in the form of contraction of the uterus for no more than two minutes. This process can be recognized by the "petrified" belly. This phenomenon is also called Braxton-Hicks contractions.which may appear until the very end of pregnancy. Special Features:

• they are irregular;
• short-term;
• painless.

Their true nature is still unknown, it is believed that this is how the body prepares for the birth process. These workouts can be triggered by:

• physical overexertion;
• increased emotional activity;
• stress;
• tired;
• response to fetal movement;
• sexual contact.

As for the frequency, there is no single answer - everything is individual. Some feel training contractions several times an hour, others once every few days, and there are women who have not experienced it at all or simply do not feel them.

If you feel discomfort at these moments, then it is enough to simply eliminate it - change your position or lie down. These contractions cannot harm the baby or provoke the opening of the cervix, it is not necessary to panic and go to the hospital. Think of Braxton Hicks contractions as part of your pregnancy.

In addition to training contractions, there are so-called harbingers that a woman can feel from the thirty-eighth week of pregnancy. Please note that these false contractions also do not have any effect on the fetus and cervical dilatation. They feel stronger and brighter than training ones. How to distinguish them from the real ones? There are intervals between contractions of any nature; in false ones, it does not decrease, and the intensity does not increase. You can eliminate them with:

• a warm bath;
• sleep;
• snack.

What are real contractions, how to understand that they have begun? Distinctive features of labor pains:

• lack of control by a woman (they cannot be eliminated in any way);
• the intervals between them are decreasing;
• intensity builds up.

The initial phase of labor pains: duration - twenty seconds, intervals - twenty minutes. The moment of opening the cervix: duration - one minute, intervals - two minutes. You will find some more information on this topic in the table below.

Features	Training	Harbingers	Ancestral
first impressions	20 week	37-39 week	start of labor
how often felt	single manifestations	1 every half an hour, no decrease in intervals	first phase - 1 every 20 minutes, final - contractions every minute
feelings	painless	moderate pain	rising character
localization	anterior wall of uterus	lower abdomen	lower back and girdle pain in the abdomen

Functions

Conflicts have many functions. It all depends on the period of childbirth:

• first period - cervical dilatation;
• second - fetal expulsion;
• earlypostpartum - separation of the placenta, prevention of bleeding;
• late postpartum - the return of the previous size of the uterus.

Prenatal contractions

Separate several phases:

• hidden;
• active;
• deceleration phase.

Each of these phases has its own characteristics (length of period, intervals, and so on). You can find more detailed information in the table below.

Characteristics/phases	Hidden	Active	Slowdowns
duration	about eight hours	about five hours	30 minutes to an hour and a half
frequency of contractions (minutes)	twenty	four	three
duration of contractions	about twenty seconds	no more than forty seconds	one minute
opening (cm)	max three	max seven	max twelve

The table shows the average data that are considered the norm during labor. Real time depends on many factors:

• the first is childbirth or repeated;
• physical readiness;
• psychological readiness;
• anatomical features and so on.

First and subsequent births

Contractions in primiparous (duration of labor, rate of cervical dilatation and manyother parameters) are slightly different from those who give birth to a second or third child. The thing is that the body has a memory.

If you are not giving birth for the first time, then the birth canal will open about four hours faster, that is, the period of contractions will become much less. This becomes possible, since the internal and external os open at the same time, and in the primiparous everything happens sequentially. With repeated births, many women note the intensity and active dynamics of contractions. If the difference between the children is about eight to ten years, then you are unlikely to feel the difference between the first and subsequent births.

Despite this, it is important to understand that childbirth is a very individual, multifactorial process.

Feelings

How can a woman recognize contractions? The first thing you should pay attention to is the nature of the pain. The contractions before childbirth resemble menstrual pulling pains in the lower abdomen and in the lower back. Some additionally feel pressure and heaviness. The first contractions bring discomfort more than the pain that appears with an increase in the intensity of contractions. The cause of the pain is the dilatation of the cervix.

As for localization, everything is individual here. Some note the undulating nature of the pain (from the bottom of the uterus, covering the entire abdomen), for others, the lower back or the uterus itself acts as the place of origin of pain sensations.

Are painless contractions possible?

Pain during contractions is impossible not to feel. The important thing is how her woman will endure. It all depends on:

• pain threshold;
• emotional maturity;
• preparing for the birth process.

If you do not feel contractions, then this indicates the absence of labor; it means that the baby still does not want to part with his cozy nest.

Sequence of actions

In the maternity hospital, contractions are strictly controlled by a doctor who monitors their regularity, intensity and intervals between them. What to do if you feel contractions at home? Here is the sequence of actions:

1. Don't panic.
2. Make sure these are not false contractions (a stopwatch will help you with this).
3. Take your time to pack for the hospital (plan your arrival at the hospital so that the intervals between contractions are ten minutes, this is about seven hours after the first manifestations; spend the rest of the time resting).
4. Take a shower.
5. If this is not the first birth, then you should not wait for the intervals to shorten, if you have regular contractions, go to the hospital right away.

Correct posture

How easy is it to move the contractions before childbirth? There are several ways to reduce pain:

• correct posture;
• breathing exercises;
• massage;
• dance;
• positive attitude;
• focusing on an object.

As for the pose, here you need a fitness ball (fitball) or wall bars.

1. Kneel before the ballhug him and lay your head on him. So the stomach sags between the legs, the muscles relax, reducing the pain, and the mother rests.
2. Stand with your back to the Swedish wall, grab the bar. Begin to slowly lower yourself down by bending your knees. A slight swaying of the hips from side to side will also help.

Breathing

How easy is it to move contractions? There are other effective ways, for example, breathing exercises. As noted earlier, there are certain periods in the process of childbirth. The breath in each of them is different.

Contraction phase	How to breathe correctly?
Initial (hidden)	Alternation of deep breathing inhale - nose, exhale - mouth (rest in the intervals between contractions). Superficial, it is also often called "dog" (at the time of the fight).
Active	Absolutely the same as in the initial phase of contractions.
Transitional	It is necessary to restrain efforts to avoid rupture of the cervix (until the doctor allows it). This breathing will help - two short breaths and one long exhalation.

Other Pain Relief Methods

Expectant mothers are told in detail about how to easily endure contractions at specialized courses.

Massage (more specifically, light strokes of the lower back, shoulders, feet and legs) will help take your mind off the pain a little. This can be done by any close person (husband, mother, sisterand so on).

Dance (more precisely, light, gentle swaying of the hips) will help relieve unbearable pain. You can do this with relaxing calm music.

A positive attitude and understanding that not only you, but also your child is suffering now, will also be a kind of painkiller. Talk to your baby and clearly follow all the doctor's recommendations.