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The uterus starts contracting very early in pregnancy though few women will notice its occurrence. As the third trimester nears many women will start noticing contractions and wonder what are Braxton-Hicks contractions and which ones could be preterm labor. The differences are important to know so you can take care of your unborn child.
Braxton-Hicks contractions are often known as false labor. It is because these contractions so closely resemble those of labor that the difference can be difficult to distinguish. Essentially, the contractions themselves are the same but what the result is the difference.
A Braxton-Hicks contraction can feel just like menstrual cramps or lower back pain. It can also feel like tightening of the uterus, starting low and traveling toward your rib cage. The variety is infinite in how contractions are felt. When Braxton-Hicks contractions occur, they are typically very irregular even if they start out as regular as labor contractions would.
Let us imagine you start having contractions that are ten minutes apart and they last for 30 seconds and this goes on for one hour. The next hour the contractions are seven minutes apart and lasting for 45 seconds. You will probably start wondering if you are in labor and will call your health care provider. During the third hour the contractions could stop or they could decrease in frequency and occur every 15 minutes. It is this irregularity in their occurrence that will tip you off that it is false labor.
True labor that results in your baby being born requires contractions that progress in some manner. Usually they must get longer in duration, closer together and feel stronger. It is this combination that makes your uterus work effectively enough to change your cervix.
And the change in your cervix is ultimately the difference between false labor and real labor. If your cervix begins thinning and dilating, then the contractions are being effective and may or may not result in your baby being born. If the contractions are not effective enough then the cervix will not change. And the only way to really know if the cervix is changing is by having your health care provider do a vaginal exam. The problem with that is that if you are really in preterm labor, a vaginal exam can just further the complications by stimulating the cervix from touch and increasing the frequency of contractions. This is why noting what the contractions are like can save much trouble.
Anytime you are concerned you should call your obstetrical care provider, but you can also watch certain signs to consider yourself whether it might be false labor.
The signs to look for in both false or real labor are low back pain, menstrual like cramping, increased vaginal discharge, diarrhea, nausea, uterine pain radiating throughout your pregnant belly and vomiting. From there consider if the contractions are getting longer, stronger or closer together and call your provider with your information to see what you should do next. The more you know the easier it will be for your provider to determine if you are in false or true labor.
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