Thread: Braxton hicks... maybe?!?!

Hey ladies, so I think I might have had BH for the first time the other night, but I'm not sure. It sounds so silly, considering this is my fourth baby, but I really never had any issues with this before. So I was having radiating pain that actually started in my back and came around to the front. It was actually pretty painful, but did stop when I laid down. It actully felt more like the contractions I had with baby #1 (all back labor). I've done a lot of reading on BH and I know thery're not supossed to be painful, just uncomfortable, but these were both. Anyone else experience anything like this, whether it be this pregnancy or previous ones?

Not being a smart@$$ by posting this - but we talked about it here: Braxton Hicks and it seems like everyone has different experiences with BH.

I have all kinds of aches and pains and tightening but I have no idea if its BH or not.

I am not sure about BH either, as I'm not 100% sure I have ever had them. I get tightening in my belly sometimes but I'm not sure what it is. That does sound like back labor contrax though. I had back labor with DS and it was the pits. I hope that isn't a sign that you will have BL when the time comes!

Originally Posted by sugspop

I am not sure about BH either, as I'm not 100% sure I have ever had them. I get tightening in my belly sometimes but I'm not sure what it is. That does sound like back labor contrax though. I had back labor with DS and it was the pits. I hope that isn't a sign that you will have BL when the time comes!

Yea me too! I had back labor with DS#1 and it was excrutiating! If that's the case sign me up for the epi right now lol!

Thanks Jenn, I read through it before (even commented there that I had never really had BH contax before) and I still couldn't really find anything that matched the description that I was having. I had another one on the drive to work this morning, but really short, and nothing else since then. I wish I knew what the heck is going on. DH wants me to call the OB, but I think it's silly since it's not like I'm having them every day or even for long periods of time...

Yes, me too! If more BL then epi right away for me too!


Hmm, yea maybe just see how it goes and if it becomes more frequent and/or more painful, call your OB! You next appt. is still kind of far away, so better safe than sorry!

Honestly, that doesn't sound anything like the BH I've had. I've never had ones that are actually painful, nor with radiating pain from the back. And like you said, the books and websites all say that BH might be uncomfortable but not painful.

If it was just a one-time occurrence, I probably wouldn't worry too much about it. But if it happens again, I would call your doctor/nurse line or whoever.

Not to freak you out, but just to let you know it might be something to be aware of..... the only time in my pregnancies where I had strong back pain radiating towards the sides/front, it turned out to be kidney stones. I'd never had one before in my life! And kidney stone pain can start/stop suddenly out of nowhere. It's probably not what you're having, but anything is possible I guess, so keep it in the back of your mind!

Hey Krystal
I just got back from the doctor/l&d. I have been having a similar pain off and on over the weekend. Anyway I finally bit the bullet and went to l&d (today is a holiday here). So everything with baby is fine, but there is a blockage in one of my kidneys. They didn't say stones, just a blockage. They suggested I see an internist because it is nothing to do with pregnancy. Now I am searching PO trying to find others with similar experiences, which is how I happened upon this.

BH for me is just an occasional tightening of the uterus. It gets quite uncomfortable late in pregnancy. I've been noticing them more often lately. About 2-3 an hour. It reminds me to think how much water i've drank that day., Usually i haven't drank enough or i've just done too much.

I had real problems with BH PTL with Jacob. From 25-26 weeks until delivery i had regular contrax that wouldnt stop but no cervical change until 36 weeks. It was scary adn docs werent sure why it was happening. I think my uterus was irritable and jacob was measuring pretty big for GA. He was born 36w3d and weighed exactly 8 lbs! U/S showed high fluid levels too.

Geez that's a big baby for a month early! Did they mess up on your EDD? Thankfully I never have any BH, probably because I mosty drink water. What I was experiencing, though, I don't think they were BH because they were starting in my back and working their way forward, and quite painful, like my back labor was with DS#1. Thankfully I haven't had any since then... I hope this doesn't mean that this little man is going to torture me with back labor like his older brother did lol!