Does Your Baby Move a Lot When You're in Labor
What Are the Unlike Types of Contractions, and What Do They Mean?
Every bit your pregnancy draws to a close, you might be obsessing about labor contractions. Observe out more about the types of contractions you tin expect, how they feel, and what they mean for labor and delivery.
No thing where you are in your pregnancy, you're probably thinking an awful lot about the end of it—labor, delivery, and that cute baby. And what's going to go you there? Contractions.
Consider contractions your torso'southward way of helping nudge your baby out into the earth. "The uterus surrounds the baby, and when the uterine muscles contract, that helps labor progress," says Bart Putterman, M.D., an OB-GYN at Texas Children'south Pavilion for Women in Houston. The uterine contractions get your baby into position for nativity and help them maneuver through the birth canal.
But having contractions earlier you're due doesn't necessarily mean that Baby has requested an early checkout from Hotel Utero. Here'south what you need to know virtually the different types of contractions and what they mean.
- RELATED: Signs of Budgeted Labor: How to Tell Your Baby is Coming Shortly
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Types of Contractions and What They Mean
Some contractions bespeak that y'all're in labor, while others but mean that your uterus is preparing for delivery. Here's how to tell them autonomously.
Early Contractions
You may commencement to experience a tightening and hardening of your stomach throughout your pregnancy; this signals that your torso is preparing for labor and delivery. "The uterus is exercising for the thou finale," says Paul du Treil, M.D., manager of maternal and child health at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. These outset disorganized twinges are a precursor to the existent deal.
Causes of early contractions include stretching of the ligaments effectually the uterus, dehydration, constipation, and gas pains. If they're accompanied past spotting, bleeding, and/or abdominal pain, you demand to see a doctor to rule out an ectopic pregnancy or a potential miscarriage.
Braxton Hicks Contractions
Starting in the second trimester, some women experience sporadic "simulated" contractions known as Braxton Hicks. They by and large aren't painful, last anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and happen randomly (although they can be trigged past things like practise or intercourse.)
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Braxton Hicks contractions indicate that your uterus is preparing for delivery. Endeavour calming the cramps by drinking plenty of water, taking a warm bath, emptying your bladder, and breathing rhythmically.
Preterm Contractions
Earlier 37 weeks of pregnancy, contractions that come regularly (every 10 minutes or less) may signal preterm labor. Written report any contractions to your doctor or midwife so she can determine what's happening.
Sex Contractions
If you have a normal, uncomplicated pregnancy, orgasms—with or without intercourse—don't increment the risk of premature labor. Also, sex activity during pregnancy isn't likely to trigger labor even every bit your due engagement approaches, but yous may experience Braxton Hicks contractions or fifty-fifty light spotting afterward. These should subside in a couple of hours. If they're accompanied by whatsoever troubling symptoms (like bleeding, pain, vaginal discharge, or a decrease in fetal movements), contact your doctor or midwife.
Labor Contractions
True labor contractions might start out every bit an occasional, uncomfortable twinge of your stomach. They'll slowly build to something more, like really bad menstrual cramps or gas pains. Every bit labor progresses, these contractions will become stronger, more intense, and closer together.
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The easiest way to know if you're having true labor contractions is by doing a simple self-exam. Lie downwards and place a hand on your uterus. If your entire uterus is hard during the cramping, information technology's probably a contraction. If it's hard in one place and soft in others, those are likely non contractions—it may just be the infant moving effectually.
Back Contractions
Truthful labor contractions tin can cause back pain, ranging from a tiresome aching or cramping that radiates towards your uterus to more severe discomfort in the lower back. If the pain is intense and remains mostly in your back, you are probable experiencing back labor.
Back labor is typically a upshot of the baby'southward position every bit it moves into the birth culvert. Babies that nowadays with their heads facing up (called occiput posterior) often place more force per unit area on the nerves in the female parent's dorsum, causing a heightened sensation of pain. But some laboring women but feel the pressure of contractions more acutely in their backs, which may or may non subside as the labor progresses. Talk to your birthing staff about pain relief options—there are medicated and drug-free means to reduce the pain of back labor.
- RELATED: What Back Labor is Really Like
How to Handle Labor Contractions
Once labor contractions begin, note how long they concluding and the length of fourth dimension between them (measured from the commencement of 1 wrinkle to the starting time of the next). You lot're considered to be in active labor if you have regular contractions that concluding for near a minute and come more frequently than every 5 minutes.
Unless you're very uncomfortable during early contractions or you live far from the infirmary or birthing middle, your doctor or midwife may recommend staying home until active labor starts. "You may be able to go most your life when labor starts, but at that place's a time where the energy shifts, and yous can't do anything other than labor," says Siobhan Kubesh, a certified midwife with OB-GYN North in Austin. That's usually when it's time to hit the hospital or birthing center.
- RELATED: Stages of Labor and Delivery: What to Expect When Y'all Give Nascency
If this is your first pregnancy, it might take a while for your trunk to get into the groove. Your entire labor will probable last for several hours—or even more than a day. Subsequent pregnancies may involve much shorter labor. "Second and tertiary babies typically come a lot quicker," Dr. du Triel says. "The female parent's body has done this earlier and remembers the process, so they can quickly progress to active labor."
Source: https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/signs-of-labor/what-are-contractions/
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