How to Identify Contractions

Labor contractions are the physical way your uterus tightens to promote delivery of your baby. All body muscles tighten and shorten (contract) when they’re being used. And the uterus is one of the strongest muscles in the body.

What Do Contractions Feel Like?

Kathi Valeii is a freelance writer covering the intersections of health, parenting, and social justice.

Monique Rainford, MD, is board-certified in obstetrics-gynecology, and currently serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale Medicine. She is the former chief of obstetrics-gynecology at Yale Health.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents

Labor contractions may feel like discomfort or a dull ache in the lower back, along with a tightening sensation across the abdomen and pelvic pressure. Some compare contractions to intense period cramps or the pressure of a bowel movement. There may also be groin, thigh, and side pain.

While labor contractions can be mild at first, they grow longer, stronger, and closer together over time. In comparison, Braxton-Hicks contractions—also called practice contractions or false labor—often feel like a squeezing of the abdomen that stays consistent.

It’s not just health insurance premiums, but also deductibles, that keep on rising. In 2018, the average deductible was $3,000 for a gold-tier family plan, $8,000 for a silver-tier family plan and $12,000 for a bronze-tier family plan, according to USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism.

Not everyone experiences contractions in the same way. This article explains what contractions may feel like at different stages of pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period.

Braxton-Hicks Contractions

Braxton-Hicks contractions may begin as early as your fourth month of pregnancy. They are your body’s way of preparing for labor.

These contractions feel like a tightening sensation in the abdomen. Unlike labor contractions, they do not follow a pattern. Often, they change or stop with one of the following:

Moving
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking

If you are near your due date, one way to distinguish Braxton-Hicks contractions from the real deal is by trying one of the above to see if it makes them stop.

Braxton-Hicks contractions may occur more frequently the closer you are to your due date. They may be triggered by:

Braxton-Hicks contractions are not an emergency. They are present in all pregnancies, although people may experience them differently.

However, if you are feeling them four or more times in an hour and you are not close to your due date, check with your healthcare provider to ensure they are not preterm labor contractions.

Early Labor Contractions

Early labor contractions are mild. They usually come every five to 15 minutes and last 60 to 90 seconds. These contractions often feel “crampy.” You may also feel a tightening sensation that begins in your low back and radiates toward the front of your abdomen.

Begin timing contractions in early labor. Timing contractions may help you see a consistent pattern and determine when to head to the hospital.

Early labor is also when you may lose your mucus plug (a collection of mucus located at the cervix). When this happens, you may notice blood-tinged discharge or a small amount of bleeding. This level of bleeding and discharge is not unusual. If, however, you notice bleeding that is as heavy as a menstrual period, contact your healthcare provider immediately.

Feeling of Early Labor vs. Braxton-Hicks

Early labor contractions are often confused with Braxton-Hicks contractions. That’s because early labor contractions usually start relatively mild and can take a little while to establish a pattern.

Sometimes the only way to distinguish between practice and actual contractions is with time. Early labor contractions will continue regardless of activity and will increase in strength and duration.

The following list details some ways you can distinguish between early labor and Braxton-Hicks contractions.

Contractions have a pattern.
They get closer together over time.
They continue even when you rest or move around.
They get stronger over time.
Pain may start in the back and move to the front.

Contractions don’t follow a pattern.
They do not increase in frequency.
They may stop with rest or movement.
They do not increase in intensity.
Pain is often only felt in the abdomen.

Active Labor Contractions

Active labor is still first-stage labor, but it is more intense than early first-stage labor. At this stage, there is no doubt you are in labor. Your contractions are more consistent, more painful, and closer together.

Active labor contractions feel like early labor contractions but stronger. You may feel the sensation in your back as well as your abdomen. In addition, you may feel cramps in your upper legs.

Other signs of active labor include:

Vomiting
Water breaking
Urge to push when transitioning to the second stage

Transition

Transition is often the most challenging and overwhelming part of labor. During this period, contractions may feel like a lot of pressure in your lower back and bottom, and you may begin to feel like you need to push during contractions.

This period of shifting from first-stage labor (opening of the cervix) to second-stage labor (pushing) usually lasts between 15 minutes to an hour.

Back Labor

Not everyone experiences back labor, but for those who do, it can be very uncomfortable. Back labor contractions feel like intense lower back pain. It is caused by the pressure of the fetus’s head against the low back.

Contractions During Pushing

During the pushing phase of labor, also known as the second stage, contractions feel like the urge to have a bowel movement.

Contractions during the second stage often slow down considerably. For example, they were probably coming every couple of minutes at the end of first-stage labor. But, in the second stage, they space out to maybe five minutes apart.

During the first stage of labor, contractions open (dilate) and thin (efface) the cervix. During the second stage, contractions serve to expel the fetus from the uterus.

Post-Birth Contractions

After you’ve given birth, you will continue to have contractions to help expel the placenta. Contractions are often less intense than the contractions that you felt during the other stages of labor and may feel like menstrual cramps.

This is known as the third stage of labor and usually takes between five and 30 minutes.

Even after the placenta is delivered, you will have contractions in the postpartum period. These contractions work to bring your uterus down to its pre-pregnancy size.

Breastfeeding stimulates uterine contractions. So, if you breastfeed, you will continue to have contractions. However, most people don’t experience discomfort from the contractions after the first few days following childbirth.

Summary

Contractions can feel different throughout pregnancy and labor. You may feel Braxton Hicks contractions starting in the fourth month of your pregnancy. These contractions may feel like a tightening sensation and don’t follow a pattern.

A Word From Verywell

Keep in mind that contractions serve a different purpose during various stages of pregnancy and labor. This can impact how they feel. Becoming familiar with the usual symptoms of contractions can help you prepare for what lies ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I go to the hospital for contractions?

You should go to the hospital when you have painful contractions that last for at least one minute each and are occurring every five minutes for at least two hours. You should also go if your water breaks, even if you aren’t having contractions.

Can you have mild contractions for days?

Yes. You can have mild, or even painful contractions for hours, days, or weeks before going into active labor. This means that beginning at 37 weeks, you may experience mild to painful contractions as a result of what’s called prodromal labor.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. How to tell when labor begins.
Cleveland Clinic. True vs. false labor.
March of Dimes. Stages of labor.
Cleveland Clinic. Signs that labor is 24-48 hours away.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. What is back labor?
March of Dimes. Your body after baby: The first 6 weeks.
UC San Diego Health. When to go to the hospital for childbirth.
American Pregnancy Association. Prodromal labor.

By Kathi Valeii
As a freelance writer, Kathi has experience writing both reported features and essays for national publications on the topics of healthcare, advocacy, and education. The bulk of her work centers on parenting, education, health, and social justice.

How to Identify Contractions

Contractions may feel like waves that radiate throughout your core. You may also feel a cramp-like sensation, pelvic pressure, a dull backache, or your belly become hard.

Labor contractions are the physical way your uterus tightens to promote delivery of your baby. All body muscles tighten and shorten (contract) when they’re being used. And the uterus is one of the strongest muscles in the body.

Labor contractions are often described as feeling like a wave, because their intensity slowly rises, peaks, and then slowly decreases.

Labor contractions often:

radiate from your back to the front of your core
make your whole belly rock hard
feel like cramps
include pelvic pressure
include a dull backache

The word commonly associated with contractions is “pain,” but you can redirect your mind to think of them as productive, demanding, and just intense.

Read on to learn more about what to expect from contractions, and what you should do once contractions start.

Contractions help move a baby downward by tightening the top of the uterus and applying pressure on the cervix. This pressure causes the cervix to open, or dilate.

Contractions can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.

The hormone oxytocin stimulates labor contractions and will keep them happening all throughout labor. As labor progresses, contractions usually:

get more intense
last longer
come closer together

Sometimes, contractions are less frequent once you’re finally pushing the baby out, but they’ll still be very strong to work with you to get the baby out.

For a full-term baby, true labor contractions won’t start until your baby is at least 37 weeks.

If you experience contractions earlier than 37 weeks, seek immediate medical attention. These are known as preterm contractions, and may be a sign that you’re going into labor before your baby has fully developed.

You may also feel Braxton-Hicks contractions as early as the second trimester.

Braxton-Hicks contractions are sometimes called practice contractions. They’re believed to help prepare your body for labor. These generally don’t last very long and aren’t painful.

Contractions don’t always mean you’re in active labor, either.

Some women experience contractions on and off for a couple of days before labor finally begins. This is known as prodromal labor.

What are the symptoms of labor? | Labor signs

Call your doctor or midwife if you’re having contractions, whether they’re coming regularly or irregularly spaced.

If you’re having contractions in a regular pattern — meaning they’re spaced about the same distance apart — and you have the following signs, you’re probably in labor:

tightening, or feeling like the baby dropped in the pelvis
diarrhea
bloody or mucus discharge from the vagina
water breaking, appearing in a gush or a steady leak
nausea and vomiting

Cervical ripening or thinning is another sign, but you won’t be able to diagnose this symptom on your own. Only a trained doctor, midwife, or doula can tell you if your cervix is actually thinning and opening in preparation for the baby to be born.

How do you know your contractions are a sign of labor and not something else?

It may be difficult to know if you’re having contractions, round ligament pain, or indigestion — especially if you’re a first-time mom.

People talk about “real contractions” and “false labor” but instead of using such terms, pay attention to what you’re feeling so that you can talk to your doctor about it.

Often, resting, changing your position, and rehydrating will stop irregular contractions before real labor. Real labor won’t be stalled by these actions.

If your contractions are coming in a regular pattern and you have other signs of labor, call your doctor right away.

Timing contractions is an essential part of assessing if you’re in labor. Labor contractions will come in a regular time pattern that slowly increases in frequency.

Early in your third trimester, your doctor or midwife should start telling you what to expect and how to communicate about labor signs.

Ask them when they’d like you to head to the hospital or call them based on contraction timing.

Time your contractions from when one starts until the next one begins.

To time contractions:

When you feel the tightening in your abdomen, immediately note the time.
Try to notice if the contraction reaches a peak.
Once the tightening stops completely, note how long it lasted, but don’t stop timing the contraction.
Wait to feel the next tightening before restarting your stopwatch.

An analog clock is most accurate for timing contractions. You can also download a phone app with an easy timer button so that you don’t have to think about it at all. An app can be a lot more relaxing if you’re anxious.

A common rule of thumb for first-time mothers is 3-1-1: Contractions coming every 3 minutes, lasting 1 minute, and recurring for 1 hour.

If you’re having a hospital birth, your doctor may want you to call them before you head to the hospital. If they don’t mention their preference, ask during one of your appointments in your third trimester.

Also, depending on previous births or preexisting conditions, your doctor may ask you to be in touch even if your contractions are coming every 5 to 10 minutes.

What Do Contractions Feel Like?

We have included third party products to help you navigate and enjoy life’s biggest moments. Purchases made through links on this page may earn us a commission.

Talk to any mom about labor and delivery and the question “what do contractions feel like?” is bound to come up. Contractions are what help move things along during labor, although it’s also common to get them before you go into labor. And, as most women will tell you, they feel less than amazing.

The uterus is a large muscle, and just like any other muscle in your body, it will flex when it’s stimulated, explains Sherry A. Ross, MD, a women’s health expert and author of She-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health. Period. Hormonal changes can start contractions—but how a woman experiences contractions depends on her pain threshold and what type of contraction she’s actually having (yep, there’s more than one kind). Here are the factors that can affect what contractions feel like.

Types of Contractions

What do contractions feel like? It depends. There are several different types of contractions, and they’re not all associated with the start of labor. Here are the main ones that should be on your radar:

• Braxton Hicks contractions. These irregular contractions can happen on and off before you’re actually in labor, says Christine Greves, MD, an ob-gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando, Florida. You may start feeling Braxton hicks contractions in the second or third trimester. They’re considered practice for the real deal and are sometimes referred to as false labor.

• Preterm contractions. Preterm contractions are those that occur at regular intervals before the 37th week of pregnancy, Greves says. They also may be associated with cervical changes like effacement (when the cervix thins out) and dilation (when the cervix opens) if a woman is actually in preterm labor.

What Do Braxton Hicks Contractions Feel Like?

Braxton Hicks contractions are irregular contractions that aren’t associated with cervical changes, and they can happen anytime in a woman’s pregnancy. “With Braxton Hicks, contractions aren’t as powerful as labor contractions,” Greves says. Some women may experience Braxton Hicks contractions and not even realize it. They don’t occur at regular intervals and often kick in at the end of the day or after a lot of activity. Changing position or walking can sometimes alleviate the pain or stop them entirely.

Becky S., a mom of two, had Braxton Hicks contractions during her pregnancy with her second daughter. “They were never so bad that I felt like I was in labor,” she says. “The contractions felt like a squeezing and tightening of my stomach that kept going up and up, mixed with period cramps. Like little lightning strikes.”

What Do Preterm Contractions Feel Like?

If a woman experiences regular contractions before the 37th week of her pregnancy, they’re preterm contractions. Without seeing a doctor, it can be tough to know whether your preterm contractions are happening without cervical changes or if they’re accompanied by the cervical changes that can lead to preterm labor. That’s why it’s important to call your ob-gyn if you’re experiencing any regular contractions, even if it’s before your due date. “No one can predict if these early, painful contractions can become more intense or fade away without any doctor intervention,” Ross says. “The risk of prematurity is too great not to take an active role in attempting to stop the uterine contractions.”

What Do Labor Contractions Feel Like?

Ask several women this question and you’re likely to get a variety of answers. Labor contraction pain can vary from woman to woman because everyone experiences pain differently, Shepherd says. How long and intense the contractions are, and what phase of labor you’re in, can affect your overall perception of the pain too, she says. In early labor, a woman may feel discomfort or just a squeezing feeling in her abdomen. “When you’re in the early part of labor, contractions are typically more tolerable—usually patients aren’t asking for pain relief, or if they are, it’s not for something super-strong,” Greves says.

Active labor contractions, on the other hand, happen when a woman’s cervix is dilating and effacing, and Shepherd describes these as “very intense.” You may find yourself having trouble talking through them. Transitional labor contractions, which happen when the baby is actually coming out, are the “most powerful, frequent and painful,” Ross says.

What do back contractions feel like?

During labor, women may notice lower back pain due to the positioning of the baby or the intensity of the uterine contractions, Ross says. Not all women in labor have back contractions, but they can happen—and when they do, these contractions feel forceful and cause “unbearable pain,” Ross says. Lee P., a mom of three, experienced back contractions and says they felt like “being hit by a truck in my back.”

Do contractions feel like period cramps?

Contraction pain is subjective. There’s no standard or universal norm. However, when describing what contractions feel like, many women do liken them to strong menstrual cramps. “It was like an earthquake of pain through my middle, getting stronger and stronger, then relief and prep for ‘aftershocks,’” says Shana L., a mom of three. But Elaine Q., a mom of two, says, “They just felt like really bad menstrual cramps … it really wasn’t as bad as I expected.”

The discomfort generally starts as a dull pain and tends to increase in intensity as labor progresses.

Where do you feel contractions?

You get it—contraction pain can vary and often feels like intense cramps. But where do you feel contractions? Once again, there’s no definitive answer. You may feel labor contractions in a variety of places, including your abdomen, back and pelvis. Many women compare them to menstrual cramps, while others liken them to bowel movement cramps. The pain can extend through your thighs and down your legs, and some moms-to-be even report feeling contractions throughout their entire body. Suffice to say, the pain might be localized or it could be all-encompassing.

How Long Do Contractions Last?

The length and frequency of your labor contractions are often determined by the stage of labor you’re in. Labor contractions can last anywhere from 30 to 90 seconds, and their frequency will increase as you get further along and closer to delivery.

During early labor, contractions tend to last 30 to 45 seconds and often happen at intervals of about 15 to 20 minutes. The kicker here is that these early labor contractions may last for hours or even days as your cervix thins and begins to dilate. The gap of time between labor contractions will gradually get shorter.

Once you reach active labor (the stage during which your cervix will dilate up to 7 cm), your labor contractions will start picking up in speed and intensity. At this point, they can last for roughly 45 to 60 seconds and happen about every five minutes. If you’re experiencing labor contractions at five-minute intervals for up to an hour, it’s time to call your doctor and probably head to the hospital or your chosen birthing location.

In the transitional labor phase, labor contractions can last up to 90 seconds and happen as often as every one to three minutes. When it’s time to push, your contractions will probably still last about one-and-a-half minutes each, but the time between them may (thankfully!) space out a bit more.

What Are the Early Signs of Labor?

Determining whether you’re in labor can be difficult. It’s confusing—especially if you’re experiencing strong Braxton Hicks contractions. The following are a few signs that indicate baby’s arrival may not be far off:

• Regular contractions. You’re feeling strong, predictable contractions that increase in frequency over a period of time.

• Baby may drop. Often referred to as “lightening,” this can happen hours or even days before labor, as baby gets into position for delivery.

• Vaginal discharge and bloody show. You may notice an increase in vaginal discharge as your mucus plug loosens. It may be tinted red or brown, a sign that your bloody show has arrived, and baby will likely soon follow.

• Your water breaks. Don’t worry, Hollywood exaggerates. While it’s possible your amniotic sac could rupture spontaneously several hours before contractions even begin, this only happens about 10 percent of the time, according to the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. This can happen as a slow trickle or a sudden gush.

Everyone feels and processes pain differently, and your experience with labor contractions may be completely different than that of other women. Either way, if you suspect you’re in labor, contact your doctor—it might just be go time!

About the experts:

Christine Greves, MD, is an ob-gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando, Florida. She earned her medical degree from the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida.

Sherry A. Ross, MD, is a women’s health expert and women’s health expert at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. She is also the author of She-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health. Period and She-ology, the She-quel: Let’s Continue the Conversation. She received her medical degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York.

Jessica Shepherd, MD, is an ob-gyn and director of minimally invasive gynecology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in St. Michael, Barbados.

Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.

Plus, more from The Bump:

Labor stage	Duration between contractions	Length of contraction
early labor	5 to 30 minutes	30 to 45 seconds
active labor	3 to 5 minutes	45 to 60 seconds
transition (final stage before pushing)	30 seconds to 2 minutes	60 to 90 seconds

How to Identify Contractions

What Do Contractions Feel Like?

Braxton-Hicks Contractions