This phenomenon has many different names: false or training contractions, harbingers, Braxton-Hicks contractions, but the essence is the same - they resemble real ones, although they are not. Such "training" can be observed starting from the 20th week of pregnancy, but usually they appear much later. An inexperienced woman may even panic and think that she is already in labor, but in fact, such spasms train the uterus, improve its circulation and tone.
Real contractions are a sign that a significant event is approaching - the birth of a baby. And if this is true, then the upcoming birth can be distinguished from "training" in other ways.
So what are false contractions and how to distinguish them from real ones? In fact, it can be quite difficult. However, as a rule, a woman has enough time to understand whether she is giving birth or not, so it’s worth calming down, lying down or taking a shower, taking some approved antispasmodic and waiting a bit. As a rule, contractions-harbingers pass within an hour or two.
If the pain increases and the period between spasms shortens,probably, the birth process still began. For those who are not too well versed in this, there are even special "contraction counting" services that will help you easily understand whether it is worth calling an ambulance already. True, they are also sometimes mistaken, therefore, in case of doubt, especially at not too late dates, you need to go to the hospital and stop labor activity.
Besides this, before giving birth, women often observe some more signs of the imminent end of pregnancy: cork release, the so-called "cleansing" of the body, prolapse of the abdomen, a slight decrease in body weight, change
the nature of the motor activity of the fetus and, of course, the most noticeable event, signaling that it is time to go to the maternity hospital - the discharge of amniotic fluid.
Movies often show that labor begins when the water breaks. In the next frame, the woman is already giving birth with might and main, so it seems that from one event to another, a maximum of an hour passes. In fact, quite often the water is poured out already during the birth itself, and from the onset of contractions to the so-called stage of "expulsion" of the fetus from the uterus, even a day can pass. Therefore, the fear of not being in time for the maternity hospital and giving birth somewhere along the road is practically unreasonable, and to go to
just in case, in the hospital, feeling contractions-harbingers, perhaps not worth it.
Thus, it is quite easy to distinguish true contractions from false ones: you just need to analyze their nature if there is no increase infrequency and severity of spasms, then there is probably nothing to worry about.
Sometimes it happens that contractions-harbingers turn into real ones. In addition, spasms in the intestines and in general its activity, for example, as a result of poisoning, can provoke the onset of labor. That is why, both in the early and later periods, you should be extremely careful about your lifestyle in general and nutrition in particular.
And if you still have doubts and after a period of rest the contractions do not go away, you can play it safe and go to the hospital. In the end, cases are different, and not everyone wants to give birth in an ambulance.
