How do contractions feel?

When I was pregnant with my first child I was induced.When I was induced though the contractions came one after another due to the pictocin speeding up the delivery.It felt like real bad cramps and someone stabbing me constantly in the side.With my second child my water broke at night and I really never felt any contractions (except the occassional braxton hicks contractions which are normal to have).But after my water broke It felt like a menustruel cramp.It was alot easier the second time around due to me not being induced .Dont worry though you will do fine.Everybodys pregnancies are different.I have even heard of some people not having hardly any cramps at all .

Contractions are different for every woman but at first they start out like really really bad menstral cramps and slowly they become more intense. What I did when I was in loabour was when I felt a contraction I would get up a sway from side to side until it went away. The first couple of cm you probably won't even feel... I know I didn't

I thought that my contractions felt like very bad menstrual cramps. At first I did not even know that I was having contractions, but the nurse kept telling me that I was. Then, the pain got more intense, and believe me, I knew it!!! I ended up having two doeses of IV pain meds and an epidural and two boosters on the epidural. I had very long and very hard labor, 19 1/2 hours! And also had a rough delivery, 4 hours of pushing only to have the doctor pull the baby out with foreceps and a horrible tear to boot!!! Good luck!!

I think you and your husband should take pre-natal classes together. Believe me it is helpful and will help you when you go into labour. You probably have so many questions and a good teacher will set your mind at ease. Also it will reduce the stress for both of you when the time comes. Best of luck.

When they first started, I really would just say "ouch that hurts", they weren't that bad, more like a menstraul cramp with a back ache. Then when they started to form a pattern, it really hurt, hard to explain, but I couldn't talk through them, my childbirth teacher said that's when you need to start timing them and use relaxation techniques. If you tense up, they hurt even more.

When I first started having contractions, it was like "ouch that hurst" and I went on my merry way. When they got closer together, like 5 minutes apart, I couldn't talk through them and would have to use relaxation techniques. That's when we went to the hospital, I was I think 3 centimeters dialated!

I never had feeling ike menstural cramps in the starting, infact my back hurted like hell the way it keeps hurting throught out the pregnancy but then it was really bad and I needed to lie down couldn't sit and then I felt as if I had to go to the toilet really bad through out the delivery. coupled with the achesd like you have in dysentry or diahorrea. I enver camew to know when my water broke though. Its always better if you can take the pains silently and concentrate on something else then your pain.I used to chant prayer throught my delivery silently in my heart. The less you yell more energy you will have to push out the baby. Goodluck, I am glads its now over for me at last.

I would say it feels like a painful hardening of your whole belly. It hurts and yes it does feel a little like menstral cramps. Everyone is different though and some women have no idea they are in labor. Others know at the first cramp. I was induced and was thrown directly into full blown labor so I didn't get the chance to warm up to the contractions getting worse and worse. They just came on full blown right from the start. No matter what anyone says here though you will never fully be able to wrap your head around what its truly like until you experience it. Good Luck and don't worry so much your body is made to do this and you will know when the time is right.

See it will scare you if you know this but only consider that it is very natural process so you will get tolerance power. But it is just extreme level of pain. Menstural cramps are very mild but at the same place to bottom it happens. Just practice breathing techniques and make some music favorite to divert yourself.