What do natural contractions feel like?

[kushie tushie]

Originally Posted by mibarra Mine was a burning tightening pain like cramps but MUCH worse, with back labor being like a fiery hand squeezing my lower back.

This. The pain in my lower back and butt was as bad as the front... But I also broke my tail bone as a kid. I always wonder if that's why I get horrible back labor (aside from babies position of course).

[steph410]

for me, early contractions just felt like the very front lower part of my tummy tightening up fairly tightly and sort of raising my belly up with the contraction. But as labor progressed to more active labor, it sort of felt like very bad gas pains, a little more "stabbing" pains if you will.

[trying4more]

Remember every women feels pain differently.

For me, the contractions start as period cramps, then I get sharp pain from hip to hip REALLY low.
It feels like HORRIBLE diarrhea cramps.

[knodceo]

A tightening that wraps around your abdomen and your back. And it will stop you in your tracks.

Never had period cramps so no idea how those compare.

Congrats if this is it...

Time it... 1 minute long 5 minutes apart for an hour is worth a call.

[cdeweese]

Both of my labors were different. My first, I was literally blacking out from the pain. My second, I didn't know I was in labor! I have BH ALL the time and so I thought that's what they were. I felt my uterus ball up and had to stop talking and sit still, but literally no pain until transition. Then felt like the worst diarrhea and 4 pushes later he was out

[Kelsey5783]

Originally Posted by jlsquire0324 Period cramps that come and go in waves and grow in intensity

Exactly that.

[Feronia]

What other people said -- slightly stronger period cramps. I didn't find them particularly painful. Hypnobirthing helped me get through them with calmness.

[kkleinman]

This is hard to answer because they are so different for everyone. With my first I had really bad back labor and titanic contractions. (You do not get a break with those, they peak and only let up a little until the next peak). I also have a bulged disc in my lumbar spine and that baby was face up and would not flip. So that labor, the contractions felt like my spine was exploding and simultaneously being ripped out of my butt hole.... I am truly jealous of women who say they could breathe through their barely painful contractions. I hope my next is different and that no one else has had contractions like this.

[kushie tushie]

Originally Posted by kkleinman This is hard to answer because they are so different for everyone. With my first I had really bad back labor and titanic contractions. (You do not get a break with those, they peak and only let up a little until the next peak). I also have a bulged disc in my lumbar spine and that baby was face up and would not flip. So that labor, the contractions felt like my spine was exploding and simultaneously being ripped out of my butt hole.... I am truly jealous of women who say they could breathe through their barely painful contractions. I hope my next is different and that no one else has had contractions like this.

LOL this is what it feels like for me. I broke my tailbone when I was young and it seriously feels like my spine and legs are going to blow off my body.

I'm mobile.... sorry for the typos!

[Pyrodjm]

Felt like menstrual cramps. It took me almost 30 mins to realize that I was in labor because I'm so used to ignoring that type of pain.There were break in between like period cramps too. During transition, they felt like really bad cramps that might send me looking for Aleve. Nothing like the awful God-let-me-die-now pain I was expecting.