11 answers

Too Many Braxton Hicks Contractions

I am 33 weeks pregnant and am having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. They are painless, but still uncomfortble. I drink a lot of water, so i know i am not dehydrated. I was just wondering if this is normal to have so many in one day that I cannot count them. Also, the baby is in the breech position. Are there any techniques or positions to get him to flip?

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With my daughter who is now 6 months old, the way my ob/gyn did it when she was in a breech position, was attempt to turn the baby as it was close to my due date. I will not lie to you, that is the most painful thing to have done to you next to actually having the baby. The doctor had a colleague help her to do this procedure which I cannot remember what it was called, but they just basically tried to turn it is all.

The procedure did not work so they scheduled me for a c-section on August 31. We got in there, they got me fully prepped for the surgery and at the last minute they did another ultra sound, and guess what? The little monkey had flipped over to the proper position after all! :-)

That could happen to you, your baby could flip over towards the end but definitely make sure your doctor keeps up the ultrasounds and monitors it. If they do that procedure and works on you and they are able to turn the baby things will be fine I'm sure unless he/she decide to turn 'back' over again.

Needless to say I am changing doctors on my next baby. My ob/gyn, Dr. Chalasani had told my husband, then me, right after the birth that the birth was hard on 'her' and that I was basically too fat to have kids and should consider not having anymore. This coming from an itty bitty woman who was about 7 months pregnant with twins when she did my daughters delivery!

Good luck to you! I'm here for you! :-)

When I was about 7 months pregnant I started having them constantly. My husband and I started counting how far apart they were around 33 weeks and they were anywhere from 3-10 minutes apart. I wouldn't worry unless you feel the cramping along with it. Some women feel them from the very first trimester. If you're really worried, or if they get more intense then talk to your doctor. Your body is just preparing itself. Just remember to get as much rest as you can with an 18 month old. Congratulations!

Hi C.!

Congrats!! I experienced a lot of braxton hicks contractions from 6 months of pregnancy and on. They were never very painful- mainly just uncomfortable especially towards the end of my pregnancy. I actually started getting the braxton hicks contractions every 10 minutes 3 days before I delivered my son! I would have them 10 minutes apart for a few hours and then they would subside and then come back and so on... So I went to my doctor and found out I was 3-1/2 cm dialated and 50% efaced. I would wait it out and if they continue you should probably think about seeing your doctor. Good Luck!

Congratulations on your second child. Your braxton hick are normal, thats just to be expected. And you baby may be breach now but the closer you get towards your due date it may decide to turn. I would not worry to much about it. Good luck and I hope all goes well!

COngratulations!! Well to me is was normal and my baby turned on my 36 week, kust be pation, and important thing is that you feel your baby everyday, if you don't drink a glass of water (very cold) and wait if it moves if your baby does not moves call your doc or go to the emergency room. By this time you have to feel your baby every day more than 3 times a day.

Hi C.,
I agree with most of the women who have already responded and they are probably nothing to worry about, but I would have it checked out. With my second pregnancy I started having what I thought were braxton hicks contractions about every 3-8 minutes constantly for about four hours straight. They did not hurt--none of my contractions hurt until transition, they just take my breath away. I went ahead and took a trip to L&D just to be safe since it was my second pregnancy--I was 4 centimeters dialated and 80% effaced. Needless to say, he was born the next day--so it can be something. If you have a high pain tolerance like I do, I had all three of my children naturally, and they do not hurt, so to be safe just have it checked--even if they just do a fetal non-stress test. Good luck!

I had a ton of Braxton Hicks contractions during all 4 of my pregnancies. They started about 28 weeks with my first and by number four they had started at 20 weeks. I didn't have any complications because of them. All my babies were born shy of 37 weeks, but they were healthy and went home with me. Also, I had very short labors. =) It wasn't comfortable at all, especially toward the end. I just tried to drink plenty of water and lie down as much as possible. Take care!

Hi C.,
I only have a moment but there is a lot of information on breech babies out on the net.
Here is an article that gives a good overview.
http://www.childbirthcollective.org/articles/breech.html

Helping your baby turn sonner rather than later would be a good idea. I have noticed in my practice that frequently babies whose moms are haveing a challenging emotional time will more likely be breech-the baby's and mom's heart fields are closer when the baby is breech and both seem to be wanting to comfort the other.

Braxton Hicks are more common with subsuquent preganacies. They are probably nothing to worry about but do check in with you health care provider.

Good luck,
R.
Doula and mom to Ben 16yrs and Daniel 12yrs
PS If you want to email me privately I will answer your questions.

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