Signs of Going Into Labor: Braxton Hicks Contractions

Video Transcript

"The best way to know that you're in labor are contractions. And one type of contraction is called Braxton Hicks. Braxton Hicks are non-dilating contractions. They also are not going to get closer together. The other type of contractions are dilating contractions. So Braxton Hicks are also referred to sometimes as false labor. But there really is no such thing as false labor. You're just having warm up contractions. The thought is that Braxton Hick contractions are getting your uterus ready. It's also seeing the baby, how well they tolerate contractions, getting them used to it, and it also promotes blood flow to the uterus. So how do you know if your Braxton Hicks contractions are pretty easy? They're going to be really mild, they're going to be non-dilating, and they're not going to get closer together. So basically, if you have a contraction, and if you change positions or walk or move around, if it's a Braxton Hicks contraction it's most likely going to go away. If it continues to stay, that's a different kind of contraction, which we'll talk about in the next clip. If you have more than four Braxton Hick contractions in one hour, your body is telling you that you are taking it too hard on yourself. You need to lie down, you need to rest and you need to drink water. Because sometimes if you're dehydrated, you're going to start getting those Braxton Hicks contractions. If you continue to get the contractions and they don't go away, you definitely need to call your caregiver. Most women start feeling Braxton Hicks contractions at about twenty weeks, but not that many really can identify what it is. They just feel kind of something that's uncomfortable. So at thirty-four weeks is when most women are really going to start feeling them. If you don't feel them though, that's okay. That still means that your body is getting ready. You just might not feel them. Sometimes you don't even identify them as contractions. You just feel a hardening in your abdomen and then it gets softer. So one of the signs that labor is getting closer are Braxton Hicks contractions."