this might be the wrong section for this thread but anyway...

what do contractions feel like, i havent had any braxton hicks or anything through my pregnancy so i dont know what i am looking out for.

xxx

Every pregnancy is different so people tend to get a different feeling, I have had pain going down my bump and down my legs today and i'm unsure if its labour or not but as they ain't regular i'm going to see how they go over the next couple of hours. I was told by my MW that they feel like period pains that get stronger and more frequent

I've had two very different experiences with contractions. With my daughter (now 4) I had pretty much all my pain in my back. You know what it feels like when you hit your funny bone in your elbow, well it was like that in my back but a lot worse, and it just got worse and worse as my labour progressed. I didn't really have any pain in my stomach at all, but later found out it was because her spine was against mine. Not nice at all.

With my son (11 days old today ) all the pain was in my lower tummy at the beginning. It would tense up and take my breathe away, my natural instinct was to hold my breath till it was over. I know now why people say "breathe, breathe breathe" because in my case I actually forgot ! lol. As my labour progressed the tightening pains spread further up and my whole stomach would tense and bring more and more pain with each contraction. I actually had no pain in my back whatsoever, so my two experiences of contractions couldn't have been anymore different.

Hope that helps
Naimi xx

Braxton hicks are where your bump goes really hard and tight, its more uncomfortable than anything else.

You'll know when you start having them.

I was worried that i wouldnt know when i was in labour when i had callum, even tho i had done it before.

First time all the pain was in my back and although at the time it probably knacked i cant remember it being anywhere near as painful as they were with callum. He was lying with his back on my spine and it was excruciating.

Like i said you will know when they are the real thing.

i have a period like ache now and again but not really any pains. x

For me my contractions were really irregular and it felt like period pains that would last a few seconds at first and go away, then they got progressively stronger and longer but still would come and go, thats what clued me in .

I'm sure you'll know when its time hon

Ive been having period like pains since Sunday off and on, can these be Braxton Hicks ??

ive had alot of aches but never really much pain lol x

I get this tightening feeling around my belly, belly gets real hard, then then some pain kinda spreads down my lower belly and sometimes my back, and I get really breathless.

I get lots of braxton hicks, but looking at how far you are now, if they become really regular for you, you have to check in.

Good luck!

I was like Naimi, with the back labour! I had dreadful back pain for 2-3 days before having my little one, I knew she was on the way as I couldn't stop sleeping and had to be in the fetal position as anything else would hurt too much. I had no pain in my front (if I did, it isn't memorable so can't have been that bad).

The best way to explain would be waves or ripples of pain which intensify as they move up. My pain was lower back and would start slowly, then build up and id feel a greater pressure on my back (just imagine waves on the sand )
Id imagine the pains in the front would feel very similar, but probably more like a really really intense period pain to start with. You can get a lot of braxton hicks near the end so don't worry, im sure you'll know when it's time. Braxton hicks feel like tightening, hard stomach and are often a little painful near the end of pregnancy.

Hope I haven't scared you with this, wanted to explain as well as possible.