What happens during Braxton Hicks?

The abdomen may feel hard during a tightening and softer afterward. Sensations can be uncomfortable or mildly painful, with pressure in the pelvis or lower back. Unlike established labour, practice contractions do not typically build into a regular pattern that becomes progressively stronger and closer together.

A change in activity, hydration, emptying your bladder, or resting may make them less noticeable. The feeling alone cannot confirm whether labour is starting, especially earlier in pregnancy, so the pattern and accompanying symptoms matter.

Pause and notice when each tightening starts and ends. Rest on your side, drink water if you have not been told to restrict fluids, and try a comfortable change of position. Keep your maternity contact details available and follow any individual plan you were given.

Do not rely on home measures if the contractions continue, become regular, or are accompanied by fluid loss, bleeding, or reduced fetal movement. Call your maternity unit for guidance.

Contact your maternity unit urgently for vaginal bleeding, suspected waters breaking, regular or painful tightenings, persistent lower-back or pelvic pressure, or reduced fetal movement. Before the stage of pregnancy when your maternity team considers labour expected, these symptoms can indicate preterm labour and need prompt assessment.

Ask how to time tightenings, which number to call at your stage of pregnancy, and how to tell whether fluid is amniotic fluid. Ask what movement pattern should prompt immediate assessment.