Pregnancy Support Group

there is already a post for this:) just go back and look the back few pages:)

OH! You'll know!! Imagine a period cramp, multiply it my 1,000,000....and that's a contraction!! :~)

ur belly will go hard as u have one and the pain gets worse as they come lol :) u will know when it happens

My experience of contractions was back ache or period pain-like sensation that was more extreme than when I have my period. The really distinctive thing was the way the pain would come and go as the contraction passed. From really painful to no pain at all at regular intervals. Almost from the beginning it was too painful to lie down so I spent a couple of nights jumping up and leaning over the table, bouncing on the balls of my feet every 5 min! Exhausting but bearable :) As I got to 4-5cm dilated the pain was nearly enough to make me cry. Then I had the epidural and after about 10 more happy, pain-free hours pushed my beautiful baby out! I think lots of first timers have long latent phases like this. I wasn't really prepared for it to be that long though because my Mum was induced with her first three and the fourth was late but came after a quick labour. On the TV, people feel the first pain and rush to hospital but I think that's unusual in real life.

At my ante natal class we were told that the amniotic fluid is difficult to distinguish from urine because the baby has been peeing in it for the last 9 months :)
My first pregnancy I could really tell when my waters leaked - it felt like quite a lot (a large pad full) and I had no control over it. I've heard that it may slow down or stop if you stand up and the baby's head plugs your cervix and flow more if you lie down but I can't confirm this from my own experience. I guess that bladder weakness would be the opposite.
My second pregnancy my waters went in the bath so I didn't see or really feel water leaking out but I did feel a pop! I didn't know that could happen.
I see you posted on 28Sep - I guess you could be home with baby by now so let us know how it went; or good luck if you're still waiting :)

Ok, this is gross, but your amniotic fluid will smell a lot like semen... I did not believe the midwives, until my waters broke! It is just totally different to urine... it is clear, and will come very regularly if they have broken at all.

Contractions feel different depending on if you are in labour or not... Braxton hicks ("practice" ones) are not meant to hurt - although mine did. They are quite similar to period cramping really. You will feel your whole abdomen go hard and lift, stay there for a while and then drop and relax. So bizzre! Enjoy it, as you will not notice so much in labour ;)

In labour, all I can tell you is my experience. We had a drug-free birth, so I remember all the sensations very easily (hey, it was only 6months ago!). At the start, it felt like a constant ache.... enough to have me on all fours on the couch looking like a beached whale :) then my waters broke, and it became more intense. It feels as though your whole body is in on the contractions... I felt like I was a pair of legs underneath a whole body of contraction. Because the uterus is so large by now, the contractions feel like they are a greater area of your body. Very different from a period. I got to the hospital at 5cm dialated, and thought "Oh no!" as it was getting a little painful. Just breathe and take them one at a time, all of a sudden it will be hours later! As they get more intense and more frequent, they don't really hurt anymore. It was actually easier for me to cope as I was further dialated and used to it, then it was at the start. The start was the worst bit! (and of course not knowing how intense they get...). You know when you get really ill, and you vomit? Well, that is your body just trying to expel a bit of liquid. So when you are having a baby, that whole body contraction happens a little more intensely. You feel your back, lungs, everything above your legs contracting. It is very powerful, so if you are not having drugs do not let it worry you (nobody warned me, and it stressed me more than the pain! The pain is managable, but do not feel bad if you decide you want pain relief as having contractions is uncomfortable! Not the horror story everyone tells you though, but I have endometriosis and those periods are worse than labour!). In labour, your uterus does the same hardening and relaxing thing, but you will probably not notice. You do not feel your baby move much either, as you are concentrating on relaxing between contractions. You will feel the start of it come on like a wave, it will build in intensity, sit there just enough to make it a little uncomfortable and just when you start thinking "ok, enough now!" you will feel your uterus relax and you are one more closer to meeting your beautiful little baby!!! You will find you notice every one at the start, but as you relax into it and get further into the labour, you won't feel as though you have been labouring as long as you have. It is an awesome experience! I am thoroughly looking forwards to doing it again, so do not let people scare you into thinking you won't cope! Just know that it does build up to a high level quickly, but then it just won't get any worse. It will stay at that level and your body will adjust and get used to it. Provided of course eveything is going ok!!

With my girl, she was born face up (ouch) which made her get stuck and really hurt my back (after two contractions, I found myself saying that back pain was the worst bit - not what I thought prior to labour!) I needed manual dialation as I just would not dialate properly, and she gave me a 2nd degree tear because of how she was born. Yet I said please and thankyou the whole way through, did not scream and did not yell at my husband! It IS hard, but it IS do-able!!! xx

well I have my story and everyone is different but i will keep it short...I had pain throughout my entire belly and I went from my bed to the couch to my mothers bed back down to my bed and finally i called the DR and i was told to go in and I was already 2cm!...