what do contractions FEEL like?

[Clementine]

i know it's different for every woman and every pregnancy, but i've never even heard anybody describe the pain. (except in comedy routines:p )
some women have back labour, and so on...but every time i've asked how it feels, they say it's terrible but you forget it so easily....
i guess that's why nobody can describe it to me!

is it like horrible cramps? does it hurt more in your abdomen or where?

i'm 38 weeks today! hooray! guess i'll know soon enough. eep!


rishta
xxxxx

[angeles]

Well, I'll tell you, *I* didn't forget! Me, I am not having anymore babies! :) It is hard to describe the pain... It doesn't feel like cramping, it's like a sharp, searing pain going around your belly. Trust me on this, you will know when you start having contractions, even when they don't hurt that much in the beginning, you'll notice :) Don't associate it with cramping though, because they are only braxton-hicks contractions. You'll know :)

-angeles

[Clementine]

thank you angeles :) i appreciate your honesty!
i just keep wondering where the pain takes place...now i know it is a belly pain. for some reason i kept thinking it would be a vaginal kind of pain.

thanks!

[Ryoko!]

eep. I still can't belive i'm going to be in labor one of these days. I'm halfway through this (week 20 yay!) and it still only "happens to other people". I am visiting the birthing center in two weeks for a full tour. I actually already have been there, but it wasn't for me...anyways...I'd like to know, if anyone here took birthing classes and went 'all natural' when they gave birth...

[angeles]

I went natural, and that's the reason why it hurt so much... but when people ask me if I were to get pregnant again, would I have an epidural, and I have to say, No, I would not get one. Those damn needles are LONG! And they go straight into the spine.... Nope, I think I'm more scared of the needle than the contractions :p I did it once, I certainly could do it again...

-angeles

PS oh, and I also took birthing class (and like it was kinda weird because I was the only 18 y/o in the class and everyone else was with their husbands and I went with my mom... :p ). It was well worth the preparation :)

[grumpydawn]

In the beginning it feels like the onset of period cramping. Only, they become longer and stronger as the baby is ready to enter the world.:)

Just remember to breathe and relax. It doesn't get bad until the end.:)

[jan]

With the first one, I had a dull back ache all day and really didn't have any pain until right before birth. With the second one I had these intense cramps like Grumpydawn described for about 2 hours

[jan]

Ryoko...I had both mine naturally. I didn't take any birthing classes but read a lot beforehand. The first one was easier b/c with the second I was stressed out at the treatment I got at the hospital and worried about whether my damn sister was gonna get there in time to watch over my 4 year old...I wasn't in the delivery room more than 10 minutes with either of them