Tightenings

[queenriccy]

Hi girls
I'm just wanting to vent.
I'm 31 weeks next week and jeez Iv gotten up this morning and Iv had awful pains and Tightenings in my tum. They are coming in waves and are starting to drive me batty, if this is starting now I honestly cannot handle them for another 9 or 11 weeks !!!
Baby is moving like crazy so it's adding to the pressure and the pain.

I really cannot remember this from last time round

Xx

 

[MrsTLC]

You should try and up your fluid in take. Braxtons are notorious if you haven't drunk enough.

 

[hopingforbabyf]

Snap!! I had lots of tightenings last night and then woke up at 4am with bad pains, could hardly walk to the loo! I managed to get back to sleep and fine when I got up and about to get ready for work. Had some more again today and like you say the babies moving are just adding to the pressure!

 

[Elleyoung777]

Hello. I am a first time mummy. Now 27 weeks, I've been having tightenings for a few weeks now. Can you tell the difference between BH's and actual labour? I ended up in maternity ward the other night as I was afraid I was going into labour!

 

[hopingforbabyf]

Braxton hicks tend to be uncomfortable and irregular whereas if it was actual labour they would become regular and painful. Apparently if you go for a warm bath and they still don't go away then it could be labour.

 

[millyb1981]

My experience was unusual but will share it with you. I was at risk in second pregnancy due to losing a baby at 38 weeks. So was going to be induced at 37 weeks. From 30 weeks roughly every two weeks I ended up in hospital because I had braxton hicks every 30 seconds for 14 hours so went for monitoring and they couldn't tell if it was labour or not. Anyway usually they were false alarms. Well two days before induction again this braxton hicks and went for monitoring. Kept in as they were not going and then within two hours turned into labour and four hours after arriving at hospital I had my little one. If they go on too long get monitored but also take comfort in the fact that after all of mine I was 3 cm dilated before labour even started which really helped. They can do a test to see if you are in early labour from what i remember by looking at cells on cervix for a hormone but it won't work if you have had sex in the last 24 hours, I assumed because semen has the same hormone? Anyway if its regular and goes on a long time go get checked out. Xx