hey there everybody in this video we are going to tackle an important topic we're talking true
labor versus false labor so we're gonna dive into what real contractions feel like what
braxton-hicks contractions feel like and give some real details because if you are wondering,
after this video you will know. Now if we haven't met in real life my name is Alice Turner I am a
doula and a Lamaze certified childbirth educator and on my channel I make videos about birth so
if that is a topic that you are interested in make sure you hit the subscribe button and the
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check the links in the description down below for information on how to get access to a free course
of 100 video topics about birth it's called birth a-to-z and it's completely free so we're going to
start right at the top with the definition of true labor true labor what it means is contractions
that cause a change to your cervix so if you're having contractions and no change is being made to
your cervix then it's false labor it doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt it's not painful and we are
going to make the differences between these two super crystal clear so I am going to put up two
charts one where we're going to list qualities of true labor right here and one where we're
going to list qualities of false labor right here let's start out with where true labor contractions
are felt true labor contractions are usually felt in the same area where menstrual cramps
are felt and that would be below your belly button so if you are having contractions that
are feeling very low in your pelvis below your belly button where you might have experienced
menstrual cramps before these are likely true labor contractions if instead you are feeling
contractions all over tightening of your entire uterus your whole belly feels hard and tight
that is likely false labor very likely those are Braxton Hicks contractions where your uterus is
doing some practice contractions but not making change to your cervix so if you are a partner
watching this and you are supporting someone in labor and they say I'm having contractions you
can ask the question where are you feeling them point to where you're feeling them show me where
you're feeling them and if they say this all over it's tighten tight that's probably false labor or
Braxton Hicks contractions if they're saying low then that's likely true labor so where the
contractions are being felt is one indication on which one it is true labor sometimes can be felt
radiating from the back our back to our front so if you experience back pain that ends up being
low down below your belly button very likely true labor contractions however if you are feeling more
like you could describe it as the baby kind of falling up or making a big turn sometimes people
will say oh the baby's all tight in there that would be more of a Brexton Hicks contraction
or a false labor contraction this next one is a real good indicator of true contractions versus
fall contract false contractions and that is if the contraction has a definite start a definite
peak and a definite stop so what that means is if you're feeling this sensations contraction
where it starts where it's you start feeling the intensity the pain the sensation whatever
you want to call it and it starts building or maybe it builds quickly but it increases almost
like some one inch squeeze your hand harder harder her and then it lets go and goes away so if you if
you had to draw it on a piece of paper it would start off the intensity would be low it would go
up and it would go down not necessarily equally like a bell curve but that it does have a start
a peak and a stop that is a very good indication that it is true labor contractions false labor
contractions don't usually have a very clear start stop and don't have an intensity that Peaks up a
lot of times people will just say oh my belly is tight I'm feeling cramping is and and then
oh now I think it's yeah it's probably gone away now so there isn't a clear increase and decrease
start/stop finish that is likely more of a Braxton Hicks contraction or a false labor contraction so
those true labor contractions they're going to increase in intensity over time meaning if you
are experiencing them for an hour several hours that if you look back to the beginning of when you
started feeling them they are lighter than they are now meaning the contraction itself is stronger
more intense possibly more painful that they have changed over time folks labor contractions
don't often get stronger as the time goes on they usually kind of stay in the same feeling as far
as intensity or pain so if you're still not sure if you are experiencing true labor or false labor
there are a couple of good things to do first of all hydrate so dehydration can sometimes lead to
true or false contractions but can sometimes make the body contract so we don't want to be
dehydrated hydration is so key for pregnancy for labor also when the baby comes very important
postpartum drink a couple glasses of water get hydrated and see if there's any change to the
sensation you're feeling if these contractions go away fairly easily with hydration they're likely
false labor contractions the next thing to try is rest so if you have had a busy day maybe you've
been active exercising or walking around or even taking care of other kids and you have been going
a lot and you're noticed an increase in the contractions and the tightening that you're
feeling in your belly if you lie down and rest give yourself some quiet moments and notice that
they go away that is likely false labor because true labor usually does not stop with rest the
last thing is movement so the opposite of rest if you get up and change positions if you had
been sitting for a while and you get up and stand or if you were standing and you sit if you if you
change up your body and you notice labor is these contractions are not stopping that's likely true
labor but if you change positions and all of a sudden the crankiness the contractions have
stopped likely false labor so those three things hydration rest and movement can be tried to see if
we can make the contractions go away and then we have an answer true or false so as we're feeling
these contractions these sensations it's a good practice we want to figure out if they are true
or false to time them to make note of how often are they coming so true labor contractions we'll
get into a regular pattern so they will start coming fairly regularly sometimes they start
off with different intervals but they get into a regular interval pattern meaning five minutes
from start to start or six minutes you have one that's six minutes apart five minutes apart seven
minutes apart six minutes apart that's pretty regular if instead the false contractions might
look like had some creepiness in the morning kind of went away sort of came back kind of went away
but you don't have regularity with them then they are likely braxton-hicks contractions or
false contractions those regular contractions coming at very similar intervals really lead us
to think they are true labor contractions the last one I'm going to put on the screen at the
exact same time and you'll probably notice they're the same so this is definitely not
a good indicator on whether or not they are true contractions or painful contractions I would say
more likely they're painful that they are true labor contractions but only if you look at this
entire list and you get to the bottom of their painful yes that's another indicator that they
are true labor contractions however there are some people I have seen it that experience very painful
false labor contractions or painful Braxton Hicks it is not the norm usually false labor
contractions are more uncomfortable discomfort kind of strange feeling not necessarily pain
maybe achiness crappiness but not pain however some people do experience them as pain so don't
take that as the indication whether it's false or true look at the whole list on each side and that
should help you make a determination if they are true or false now what are your questions about
true labor contractions versus false labor contractions put them in the comments below
I would love to see them did you deal with a lot of false labor contractions let me know
so it is always my intention with making videos on YouTube to make the topic of childbirth very
easy to understand clear and simple did I reach this goal if you think I did please hit the like
button share it with someone else if you are watching this and you are having a baby soon
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keep our partners up to speed if you are either a support person or a pregnant person expecting a
baby please check out the supporting her online course for partners I will have a link below
along with that free birth a busy course thanks for hanging out with me today and talking about
true versus false labor and I'll see you next time with another video about birth thanks guys