You’re probably getting closer to your due date and starting to get a little nervous about the labor and delivery process. Wondering exactly what labor contractions feel like.
No one ever told me what contractions felt like, but I guess I never asked either. I just figured I would know because my doctor told me not to come to the hospital until I couldn’t take the pain anymore!
Well just so you know, it is possible to have contractions and not feel them early in labor.
In my experience, my water broke first. Not everyone’s water breaks before having contractions. This caused me to have to go to the doctor and be checked.
When I went to the doctor’s office to make sure my water had indeed broken (because mine came out as a trickle at first) the doctor told me I was already 3cm dilated. They seemed very su
I didn’t believe I was having contractions until I got to the hospital, and the nurse hooked me up to the monitor and it showed me having contractions one after the other…still didn’t feel a thing!
I didn’t feel my contractions until I was 5 or 6cm dilated. They didn’t get unbearable until the last hour or so of my 23-hour labor!
By the time I asked for an epidural, I was almost 10cm.
Typically they want to get the epidural in before you reach 7cm. Mainly so they know you’re able to stay still while you are receiving the epidural. I got it and it started working just in time to start pushing!
Keep in mind, every person’s labor experience is different. I didn’t realize that some people felt more pain than others during labor. I assumed it would just be excruciating pain for hours. But for me, it wasn’t until the very end.
I’m telling you this because you could end up being the same way. There’s no need to worry because labor and delivery may not be as bad as you
I imagined it being the worst pain I’ve ever felt because that’s what everyone says it’s like. But honestly, I’ve felt worse.
Disclaimer: I am not licensed in the medical field, i am only speaking from my own labor and delivery experience.
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So what do Labor contractions feel like?
A contraction in early labor typically feels like the dull aching pain of period cramps.
As labor progresses, these pains begin to get more intense.
The individual contraction begins to build like a wave.
It starts out as a dull ache and begins to build stronger and stronger until it reaches a peak of intensity and eases off. You will then have a minute or more (depending on how far along you are in labor) of time to rest in between. Then a new wave will start.
This continues as you are pushing your baby out. If you are delivering vaginally, your doctor will most likely ask you to push while having these contractions and take a break once the contraction stops.
Back Labor
Contractions could also appear as back pain. Referred to as back labor. In my experience, this feels as if you’ve been on your feet working all day and you have a bad lower backache.
It is possible to experience both types of contractions in the same labor and delivery process.
Both types of contractions get longer, stronger and closer together in time.
With my first baby, I started out with back labor and it turned into regular contractions in the abdomen.
For me, this happened because my baby started out occiput posterior (sunny side up), meaning she was head down but facing my abdomen.
When she turned anterior (head down but facing my back), my contractions changed from my back to my abdomen.
Find out how to cope with the pain of labor and delivery.
Remember that everyone’s labor experience and their level of pain is different. Don’t let people scare you with their birth stories because yours may be a breeze! Mine sure was compared to others I have heard. I went into the hospital terrified, thinking it was going to be a horrible experience. But it truly was not. So relax and God will take care of you. Labor and delivery is not as bad as you imagine it to be.
