Best Way to Recognize Preterm Labor Contractions
Labor—both pre- and full-term—occurs when the uterus, which is essentially a very large muscle that contains the baby, begins to contract or tighten up. You cannot control the tightening and relaxing of the uterine muscle in the same way you can control the muscles in your hand or arm.
The uterus contracts before full term for several reasons: in response to hormonal changes in your body, with stretching or pulling inside the uterus caused by large movement from the baby, with significant changes in your activity, and for unknown reasons. Contractions of the uterus can occur at irregular intervals or they can occur in a regular pattern. Whether or not there is a pattern, these tightening sensations are still contractions. This is how the uterus practices for the true labor. Your uterus is a muscle that has to be in top shape to contract enough to push the baby and placenta out of your body.
During full-term labor, the uterus contracts repeatedly to push the baby against the cervix, which is the opening or baby’s exit route. This pushing against the cervix helps to dilate, or open, the cervix. When it’s fully open the baby can be born. Labor contractions continue after the baby is born, until the placenta is expelled.
Recognizing Contractions
You may be unaware that early contractions are happening. This will be especially true if you’ve never had a baby before or didn’t feel con-j tractions with your last pregnancy. Here’s how you can learn about your contractions:
- If you have an opportunity during a prenatal visit, ask yourOBprovider to help you feel for a contraction or ask to be placed on a fetal monitor or nonstress test (NST) machine. This machine records contractions you may or may not notice. Ask your doctor or nurse to tell you when a contraction is occurring or is; showing up on the fetal monitor. Try to notice any sensations you’re feeling during those times.
- Palpate for contractions. Feeling for contractions is called palpating. Contractions usually have some kind of rhythm. First your uterus feels firm, then soft, then firm again, and sometimes you’ll feel them form a regular pattern. A contraction may last about 30 to 45 seconds, and if allowed to continue, will progress to lasting 60 to 90 seconds. Sometimes the tightening sensation extends to the upper legs and lower back. Some women describe their contractions as feeling like the baby “balling up.”
Try this
Flex your right arm so the muscles on the upper arm tighten and get hard. With your left hand, feel this firmness. This is how your uterine muscle feels when you’re having a contraction. Sometimes you feel hardness on only one side of your abdomen. This is probably not a contraction but the baby’s head or bottom. A contraction makes the uterus feel hard all over like a basketball, not just in one place.
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