Hellobee Boards

You know, I never thought they felt like period cramps. My whole stomach would get rock hard. Definitely the same pain as a calf cramp but in your stomach area. They never made me scream (unless it was a pitocin contraction) but more like I wanted to do anything to make them stop.

Mine started out like menstrual cramps. It's hard to explain because I've forgotten what the pain felt like. I had back labor and also felt the contractions in my belly. It's like a cramp you get in your leg but it eventually gets way more intense. Your whole belly tenses up. You can feel the contraction coming and it gets stronger and stronger until it reaches a peak then starts to go away. Then you get a break and another one comes. By the time you're near the end, you hardly get a break. It's very intense. Low moans are good but screaming is not beneficial. However there were times I wanted to scream, and my doula would have to remind me low moans and grunts were better.

Like the worst period cramps in the history of the world, also agree with pp that they built to a crescendo and then ebbed slightly. But mine were pretty much on top o each other so there wasn't much if a break.

it felt like someone was squeezing my insides tighter & tighter.

It felt like bad period pains and got worse and worse. Mine started at 8am and I was like hey, I can handle this. at 9:30am we were on the way to the hospital and I was punching the car window because it hurt so bad. I could have talked through them once I got to the hospital if I needed to but I chose to concentrate and breathe instead. When they are over (in between each contraction), you feel nothing so it's a great break for a minute or two. Epidurals are great!

I would liken it to someone stabbing me repeatedly for 1 min every two mins. When I had DD I was screaming in triage because they hurt sooooo much.

I honestly think it's different for everyone. I dilated to 10 centimeters in about 3 hours before I got an epidural (glad they let me!), and while it was painful enough for me to be gripping the hell out of the side rail and informing DH that I might die (only because they were literally 2 min long and a minute apart!), mine weren't *that* bad. I wanted epi because I was afraid of feeling her come out, tbh!!

I had the same experience as @sorrycharlie:

Mine felt like period pains and i dilated to 9.5 without epi. Near the end they felt like stabby pains but never soooo bad.

Oh I also wanted to go over what it felt like. I describe it as your uterus (or lower abdomen) being like a brown paper bag, filled with air like a balloon. Every 2 minutes a giant comes and crushes the paper bag into a tiny hard ball in one swift clench of his fist and presses harder and harder, mercilessly. Finally he lets go and lowly the bag reinflates, filling up with air and unwrinkling on the surface. The absolute worst part is that you know that giant is coming again, and very soon, and the pain will be exactly the same. My reaction every time another contraction started was "no, no, no no no NO NO NO NONONONO AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed so loudly my throat felt like it was turning inside out. I tried to moan instead of scream but I could only keep that up for a few hours.

Pitocin contractions at 8 cm dilated after your epidural has failed twice and you've been in labor for 18 hours is not. Fun.

Mine started like period cramps and I breathed through them. I was feeling confident in myself that I was doing great! My OB had immediately started me on pitocin though and they quickly got more intense. When I got my epi at 7 cm. I was throwing up in between contractions and they felt like this paralizing pain that gripped and weighted down my body. i felt pike i couldnt move. The only thing I could do was grip the bedrail, keep my eyes shut and beg my husband to tell me when the peak had passed. The worst part was looking on the monitor and seeing the little line start to go up again...

um probably shouldn't have read through this thread 2 weeks before labor. yikes.

@autumn865: I agree. The worst parts for me was the beginning of the contraction knowing I was about to be in tremendous pain again.

I do also have to say that as painful as contractions were I really had to stop and think to be able to write this post. In a way after you have that beautiful baby in your arms you really do "forget" the pain

I also have to agree with the impacted fart thing!