Silly question but I have to ask.....

Hi Liane,

I have been having braxton hicks and they are when your belly all of a sudden turns rock hard and then goes away a few seconds or a minute later. They dont hurt at all your belly just gets very tight! My doctor said if you have more than 4 of those an hour to call but if not then they are completely normal!

Some days my belly gets really rock hard to a point where I almost feel clausterphobic because I feel like I cant breathe. This however sometimes last for an entire afternoon but I always thought that maybe it was the babies position. I happens about once a week or so. It doesnt go off and on but it is a constant hardness.....

Dr? Any input on this?

I had them alot with carleigh like caryn said your belly will get crazy hard then lossen then tighted..it should not hurt but is kinda uncomfertable..I had a csection so i dont know what reg contractions feel like sorry..

I do understand about the feeling clausterphobic..mine is so tight in the afernoon it is so hard to breath sometime..good luck big hugs

Liane everytime that i experience braxton hicks it is a tightening and then it gets loose again and when i rest it stops..the hardness that you are feeling is the babies changing postion..I feel the same like it stays hard for a long time..last night the babies moved and now they are higher and are laying side by side instead of on top of each other.. my stomach was so hard and then i couldnot even sleep..so when i went in this morning they told me i was feeling that because they moved and it was proabably happening last night when i was feeling the discomfort..the braxton hicks for me do not hurt they just feel uncomfortable and my stomach and my cest gets really tight..I hope this helps..

Melissa and Summer that does help so much!!!! I wonder sometimes if when it is feeling super super tight if it is when the babies are on top of each other. Usually it lasts an entire day and then I will wake up and it will be all better. If what you are describing is Braxton Hicks I dont think I have had them yet. I have not experienced that tightening then loosening...

Hi Liane! :-) The tightening you're feeling now is Braxton Hicks, and it will intensify as your pregnancy goes further along. Some women think it's labor because your entire belly will be rock hard for about 30 seconds, then will subside. Braxton Hicks contractions are like "practice" for the real labor. The real labor however feels like dysmenorrhea 1000x more painful. hehe! Don't worry, you will be able to handle it. It will start as a very dull pain at first as if you're having your period. If you're feeling this together with contractions, start timing it. Remember this--REAL LABOR IS CONSISTENT and doesn't stop. If the pain and contractions are getting closer up to 5 minutes apart, that's when you need to go to the labor and delivery, or sooner of course if your water bag breaks.

And oh...when I was about the same gestation as you are now, I wouldn't feel the Braxton Hicks unless I'm relaxing in bed or watching TV in the couch. When I'm moving around, I can't feel it. Then I could usually tell when a contraction is coming because my heart beat starts to go fast as if something is putting weight against my lungs and chest.

Yes Lexie I experience that too..my heart gets really fast and hard..and my breathing increases too when i have the braxton hicks too..

That is great info Lexie!! Thanks for that. It sure is nice having others on here who have gone through this. I really am clueless when it comes to all this stuff!

You're very welcome, Liane. I had the dysmenorrhea-like pain as early as 36 weeks, but the pain were going off and on. However, they were painful enough to make me go to the hospital and I was given some pain meds to manage the pain because it wasn't making me sleep. I was sent home 4 times before they finally decided to induce me. I was in pain and my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart, but I was just not dilating.