Braxton Hicks - What does it feel like?

[riogirl71]

Hello Mommas! I am 24 weeks and I have been having a weird sensation on my lower stomach where it feels heavy and tight. Then it goes away. I was wondering what Braxton Hicks feels to you girls... I started having them often enough that I feel I should call my OB, I don't feel any pain, no discharge or anything else, just the weird tight feeling that comes and goes...
Thanks!

[kholtan]

I'm not sure how different it is for everyone but mine were like this. . . On a dark and stormy night. . . ok, for real. My stomach would get VERY hard starting on the top and it would just stay hard all the way until my entire stomach was tense. There was a pressure in my cervix and lower area and mine would happen all the time. Lasting from 15 sec. to a minute or more I had them 5-20 times an hour from about 3 months on. My Dr. wasn't worried because I wasn't dialating but the bad part was that even at 6cm, fully efaced, and a +2 I couldn't tell any difference. It wasn't painful at all either. I ended up having an emergency c-section due to a placenta abruption so I hope this helps. I was also having twins.

[2ndtimer]

Hi Rio,
that sounds exactly like a BH contraction to me. I get a tight feeling, sometimes in my lower abdomen, sometimes upper. Sometimes they even feel like a mild cramp. From my understanding they are completely normal & nothing to worry about unless they become regular & stronger. I notice mine more if I've over exerted myself -got too hot, exercised too much.... As the pregnancy goes along you may be feeling them more & more often and some can be more intense. If you ever worry that maybe they are contractions, lie down for an hour & drink 2 glasses of water -call your MD if they start getting more frequent or painful after you do that.
2ndtimer