What do Braxton-Hicks feel like?

[Leiiki]

I never had any with DD, but I've heard they can be more common in second pregnancies. What should I expect? Are they exactly like labor pains? Do they include back pain if baby is posterior?

[AniMommy]

Like contractions. Most of the time they were mild but every once in a while I'd have a "oh boy!" one. They always seemed to be low, between my belly button and bikini line.

[alyssamama22]

Yes I can feel one coming on, then my whole stomach gets very hard.

[UVASahm]

Mine felt like contractions but not as bad. And they were not regular and very far apart.

[leyash]

i think i am having two types of BH. sometimes, my uterus just gets hard. and it feels like a brick in my stomach. other times, it almost feels like small menstrual cramps, only focused on one side or in one area. i'm 30 weeks. fourth pregnancy.

[jennayoung99]

Mild ones feel like you are doing a crunch and you can't stop, so they do start to get a little sore feeling, sometimes taking your breath away. And then some can feel like labour. Now that's just my experience with them, my sister just had her first BH and she had to call me and tell me how big of a liar I was, because "they do NOT feel like that" lol so it's different for each person.

[dagmomma]

I had them with all but did not notice them as much bc I was expecting pain with them.

But for me I am suddenly out of breath or breathing heavy and then my stomach is rock hard.

They are starting to make me tired. This is my 4th pregnancy and I notice them alot more and often.

Towards the end they start to hurt a little more.

[canadianbakers]

I've had them with every pregnancy except with Elliana. They start about 15 weeks, get more frequent as we near EDD.
I've heard them described so many different ways, it's hard to say exactly what they'll feel like until it occurs for you!

For me, they have always been very uncomfortable, if not painful. My whole belly gets rock-hard. They feel exactly the same as all my early labor (before 4-5cm) contractions. Oddly, I feel my BH all in my front/belly, and my labor contractions have always been felt all in my back (my babies, except the breech one, have all been OP).
They don't get closer together or more intense, though I have had "sets" of them (every 5mins for 2-3 hours) they always settle and stop eventually.

[BiskMama]

Mine feel kind of like menstrual cramps, with the added bonus of a tight hard belly. Not really painful, but enough for me to stop what I’m doing and breath for a minute.

[birdinhand]

Anecdotally I have heard a lot of mamas say their BHs (prelabor) ctxs seem to start from the bottom (like the cervix) of the uterus and go up, whereas their labor ctxs seem to start at the top and go down (which makes sense because of where the pacemaker cells are located -- in the uterus but not in the cervix).

For me, sometimes I feel them like a tightening. But other times, like when I climb out of the car, I have a sudden urge to urinate despite not having a full bladder, and I realize the combination of activities has brought on a contraction (getting out of the car, standing, then walking). Then again, sometimes I just start having a hot-flash and realize it is a BH contraction.

They are just warm-up contractions that show your uterus is exercsing -- it doesn't mean anything one way or the other if a woman has them or not (like how long you will be pregnant or how long labor will be).