You are at the end of your pregnancy and the only thing left is to deliver your baby.
Impatience is grower stronger and you look to every thing that your body is doing as a sign of labor.
There are several things that can be going on in your body at this moment and some of these body changes can be misjudged as false labor.
If you have been pregnant before then you will know each pregnancy is different than the other and your body will be going through different changes than it did the last time.
Braxton Hicks
False labor contractions that seem to come and go are considered Braxton Hicks. You can tell you are having Braxton Hicks contractions by the way the contractions are acting. With Braxton Hicks your contractions will not come closer together.
They will also not increase when you do physical exercise. Braxton Hicks contractions do not get longer in length of time or how often you will be able to feel them. These types of contractions will not get stronger as time goes on. This is how you will know that you are having false labor.
True Labor Contractions
You must know first how to recognize true labor before you can recognize if you are having false labor. True labor contractions will cause a dull achy feeling in your lower back area or in your lower abdomen.
You will also feel pressure when having true labor contractions in your pelvic area. When you are having true contractions, your contractions may feel like menstrual cramps but a lot worse.
Contractions will increase when you are doing any kind of exercise and they will increase in length as time goes on.
Signs of False Labor
If you are having false labor then your contractions will stop while you are doing exercises. They will also stop when you change position. Your contractions will start to get strong and then become weaker.
If you are having false contractions then you will only be having contractions in your abdomen or in your pelvic region. You will not be having contractions in your back.
Those pains that you are having on the sides of your abdomen are only ligament pains and not true labor pains. This type of pain is usually caused by your uterus growing and will subside if you change the activity that you are doing.
Other Things to Look For In False Labor
Your physician will be able to tell if you are having true labor or false labor. You cervix will not change when you are having contractions that are false.
When you are in true labor your cervix will open up and thin out when you have contractions. You will also notice that your mucous plug will not come out if you are in false labor and it will if you are having true labor.
False labor pains are considered practice pains and will actually help you to become prepared for when true contractions do come.
Thank you for this, it is very informative and important to have the distinction betwen labor contractions and Braxton contractions clearly explained.