A few weeks before the birth, the expectant mother may begin to feel small sips in the lower abdomen and in the lower back, and also the petrification of the entire abdomen. As a rule, these sensations are painless, but cause some concern - suddenly it began birth, and it's time to gather in the hospital?
Such feelings really indicate the approach of childbirth, and are called the false bouts of Braxton Hicks. However, until this is not the birth itself, which means that you do not need to go to the hospital. How Brexton Hicks contractions, the symptoms of which can be quite diverse, are revealed right now.
Signs of training fights
To distinguish false bouts from real ones is as follows:
- false fights do not have a certain periodicity of the offensive;
- false struggles last no more than a minute;
- false bouts are almost painless and deliver a minimum of unpleasant sensations;
- false bouts are felt like petrification of the uterus and easy sipping in the lower back and in the lower abdomen;
- Brexton Hicks contractions (training bouts) easily pass from a change of position, walk or warm shower;
- false struggles do not increase and do not increase with time, as it happens in real battles;
- false bouts are not accompanied by other symptoms of advancing labor, such as the removal of the cork, the evacuation of the intestine and so on.
If it's Braxton Hicks contractions, the symptoms will be exactly that. False contractions can begin already after the 20th week of pregnancy and last even several months. During this time you can easily learn how to evaluate how training fights appear and, basing on the usual sensations, you will know that until the time of delivery has come.
The exact reasons for the occurrence of false bouts are not yet established, it is possible that the uterus is preparing for the forthcoming birth, the hormonal background may change, and perhaps the increased sensitivity is associated with a significant increase in the size of the uterus and the activity of the baby.
False contractions can last long enough and exhaust the mother, who is already in suspense. However, sooner or later, training battles before childbirth will turn into real ones. They also have several important symptoms that help to understand that labor has already begun.
How to recognize real bouts?
- real contractions increase both in intensity of pain sensations, and in the duration of the fight itself;
- real bouts come with the same frequency (from 20-30 to 10-15 minutes) and it gradually decreases;
- Fights are intensified from active walking, and a warm shower only slightly reduces sensitivity;
- during real fights, the mucous plug may depart and slight bloody discharge may appear.
If the fights last for several hours, and correspond to all the listed symptoms, the harbingers of the births of false labor have become real ones, and one can gather in the maternity hospital. This is especially true for second and subsequent childbirth, as the period of labor can be very short-lived.
The signs of false bouts are fairly transparent, and the intuition of the future mother can easily tell whether the birth has already begun, or before them for some time. However, the future mother may not feel preliminaries.
Generic activity can begin immediately with intense and frequent, and most importantly, productive in terms of opening the uterus of contractions. This does not mean that the uterus will not prepare for childbirth with the help of "training", so you do not need to worry about it. The body will be able to cope with the problem of baby's birth and without prompts. Each pregnancy and every birth is individually, so we recommend that you just enjoy the expectation of meeting with the baby.