The appearance of contractions during pregnancy is normal, especially after 20 weeks of pregnancy. These contractions are called Braxton-Hicks contractions, or “training contractions” and serve to “train” the body’s muscles for delivery.
Generally, these contractions are relatively light, irregular and subside within a few seconds or minutes, and can often be confused with abdominal cramps.
Although these types of contractions are not worrying, if they become stronger, more regular or are accompanied by other symptoms such as vaginal bleeding, it is very important to go to the hospital or consult an obstetrician, as they could be a sign of a problem with the pregnancy. .
How to identify training contractions
Training contractions can generally be identified through some characteristics:
- They are irregular;
- Causes slight discomfort;
- Improve when moving the body;
- They last a few seconds or minutes.
These contractions can appear several times during the day and even during the night, and the closer to the end of the pregnancy, the more frequent and stronger they become, until labor contractions appear.
Labor contractions, unlike training contractions, are more regular, get worse over time and do not improve when moving the body. The pain also tends to be more intense.
See more about the differences between training and labor contractions.
How to ease training contractions
To reduce the discomfort of contractions during pregnancy, it is recommended that the woman:
- Stop what you were doing;
- Breathe slowly and deeply, focusing only on your breathing.
Some women report that walking slowly helps to reduce discomfort, others say that squatting is better, and therefore there is no rule to follow, what is suggested is that the woman discovers which position is most comfortable at this moment and stay in it. whenever the contraction comes.
These small training contractions do not harm the baby, nor the woman’s routine, as they are not very frequent, nor very strong, but if the woman notices that these contractions are becoming increasingly intense and frequent, or if there is blood loss, she You should go to the doctor as this could be the beginning of labor.
When to go to the hospital
It is important to go to the hospital or consult an obstetrician when contractions appear very early in pregnancy, become very regular, appearing every few minutes, become more intense or do not improve with movement of the body. You should also be aware of the appearance of other symptoms, such as bleeding or fever, as they may be signs of a more serious problem, which should be evaluated by a doctor.
