Exercise contractions

definition

Exercise contractions are contractions that occur sporadically during pregnancy and prepare the uterus for the upcoming birth. The practice contractions are also known as pre-contractions or Braxton-Hicks contractions and are usually not painful. There are only brief contractions of the uterus, which are expressed in a brief hardening of the abdomen.

The practice contractions are not accompanied by other symptoms such as bloody discharge, severe pain in the abdomen and / or back. The frequency of labor pains usually increases as the pregnancy progresses; likewise their intensity. In contrast to labor pains, exercise contractions have no influence on the cervix and therefore do not lead to its opening. Instead, the cervix tends to close even more with the practice contractions. Painful contractions that occur at shorter intervals should give rise to an investigation by your gynecologist, as this could possibly be premature labor, the harbinger of the approaching birth.

When can exercise contractions start?

Exercise contractions can occur in the early stages of pregnancy, but they are rare there and most women go unnoticed. From about the 20th week of pregnancy onwards, labor pains occur more regularly and more frequently, which the pregnant woman notices as a hardening of her stomach and possibly a slight pulling. After all, the practice contractions can occur several times a day, but they usually do not last longer than a minute and are not perceived as painful. Slight, menstrual-like complaints are possible. If the labor pains occur more than ten times a day or three times an hour, then as a precaution a clarification should be carried out to determine whether the contractions are actually just labor pains or "real" contractions.

Read more on the subject at: Abdominal pain in pregnancy

Duration of the practice contractions

Exercise contractions are counted among the so-called pregnancy contractions and occur in a normal pregnancy from the 20th week of pregnancy. They have a relatively high intensity, so that the whole stomach becomes hard, as can be felt from the outside. However, they last a maximum of one minute, but can end again after a few seconds. These contractions are used to prepare the uterus for birth and can occur several times in a day or an hour. Their occurrence is always irregular.

Unilateral and bilateral labor

With the classic labor pains, the entire lower abdomen usually becomes hard because the uterus contracts for a short time. Depending on the situation of the child, however, the hardening can sometimes feel markedly one-sided. The child's head in particular can be felt as a hard resistance. If the child lies with the head very sideways and pushes the uterine wall outwards, the abdomen can feel harder at this point, even after an exercise contraction. However, this is deceptive, since at this point you feel the child's head. If the child presses particularly against one side of the uterine wall, however, this can also appear as a one-sided hardened stomach, although no particular uterine contraction has taken place. In this case, you only feel the baby's hard head and not a contracted uterus. A hardening of the abdomen on both sides, however, speaks for a classic exercise contraction, as the entire uterus contracts.

How painful are labor pains?

As a rule, it is characteristic of labor pains to be painless. The contractions (contraction) of the uterus can be felt by the pregnant woman. The abdomen can also be felt as hard as a board from the outside during the exercise contraction. This feeling may seem unusual and uncomfortable at first, but real pain should not occur during exercise. If, on the other hand, the contractions are accompanied by a clear pulling in the back and abdomen and the pain radiates in the groin, this can be an indication that the pre-labor has already started and the birth is approaching.

also read: Breathe in labor

When should I see a doctor with practice contractions?

Exercise contractions are not a cause for concern at first and serve an important task as training the uterus for childbirth. However, in certain circumstances they are not physiological so that a doctor should be consulted. This is the case if the labor pains occur well before the 20th week of pregnancy. If the practice contractions occur more than three times an hour and get worse, a doctor should be consulted. This also applies if the exercise contractions become regular or are accompanied by significant pain. Bleeding, any discharge or the discharge of the mucus plug are not part of an exercise contraction, so that a doctor should be consulted urgently with such symptoms!

You might also be interested in: Premature labor

CTG for practice contractions

The CTG (Cardiotocography) is very suitable to the Labor a pregnant woman and parallel the Heart action of the unborn child to record. It is therefore a very important diagnostic procedure in the Obstetrics. The CTG records all contractions, so practice contractions can also be recognized in the CTG. To differentiate between practice contractions and “real” contractions that announce a birth, various indications can be found in the CTG. Practice contractions are not as regular as antenatal contractions. In addition, they last much shorter and are not associated with typical pain symptoms. Based on the combination of clinical symptoms of the pregnant woman and the CTG findings, exercise pains can usually be easily identified.

Exercise Contractions Or Abdominal Pain - How Do I Distinguish Them?

Exercise contractions can be easily distinguished from abdominal pain by feeling the outside of the abdomen during a contraction. During an exercise contraction, the entire abdomen feels as hard as a board as the uterus contracts to train for delivery. In addition, exercise contractions occur at variable intervals and, in contrast to abdominal pain, last a maximum of one minute. Ultimately, exercise contractions are characteristically little or no pain.

For more information, read the article: Birth pains

Difference from contractions

Exercise contractions can be broken down by various aspects of Labor pains differentiate. Kicking exercise contractions rather irregular on, for example several times a day without constant or ever shorter time intervals. On the other hand, contractions become more and more regular and show an increasingly shorter interval over time. Initially, contractions can also be relieved with warmth or light movement. However, you can eventually go into real labor at the end of your pregnancy. The intensity of the contractions then increases in contrast to the intensity of the practice contractions, which usually remains about the same. Exercise contractions are also not painful. If the pregnant woman is resting or moving slightly at the beginning of an exercise contraction, the exercise contraction quickly disappears. However, changes in position or movement do not have any effect on labor preparatory to labor. The contractions continue and are painful. As a result, the pregnant woman's breathing becomes more strained over time. This is not seen in practice contractions.
After all, the exercise contractions have due to their light intensity does not affect the opening of the cervix or the length of the cervix. However, labor contractions over time cause the cervix to shorten and the cervix to open so that labor can begin and the child can be born. This is ultimately also shown by the slight loss of blood and the loss of the mucus plug that seals the cervix for the duration of pregnancy. Contractions that are associated with pain and bleeding should therefore be clarified, as they are probably not mere practice contractions.

Exercise labor or stretching the uterine ligaments - how do I tell the difference?

The strong ligaments that hold the uterus in place and pull from both sides to the pubic bone and sacrum are referred to as mother ligaments. The enlargement of the uterus during pregnancy causes the uterine ligaments to stretch. This results in sometimes pulling, cramping or burning pains that radiate into the groin, labia and sacrum (lower back).

Read more on the topic: Pain in the mother ligaments

These stretching pains can occur in very different degrees of intensity throughout pregnancy and from woman to woman, but are particularly typical of the second trimester of pregnancy (2nd trimester). Exercise contractions differ from stretching pains in the uterine ligaments in that they last for a maximum of one minute. In addition, the abdomen can be felt from the outside during an exercise contraction, which is not the case when the uterine ligaments are stretched. In addition, although the contraction is noticeable during practice labor, pain does not occur in contrast to the stretching pain of the mother ligaments.

Read more about this at: All kinds of contractions

Can I still go swimming or walking with practice contractions?

Exercise contractions occur for the first time from the 20th to 25th week of pregnancy and then occur again and again in the course of the pregnancy as long-term labor preparation until they are replaced by the lowering pains. So they do not induce labor and have nothing in common with real labor in this sense. In a normal pregnancy, there is nothing to prevent you from going swimming or walking after the onset of labor pains. On the contrary, light physical activity is recommended even by gynecologists.