What is Early contractions

 Contractions are frequent in the last stage of pregnancy. But how do we know if we are in labor or not? We answer the main doubts of pregnant women about contractions.

True contractions occur in the uterus. The cervix shrinks, the uterine muscle softens, and the baby moves downward in the pelvis. When this happens once or twice, nothing happens. About four weeks before the due date, around week 36, it is normal for it to occur: these are laying contractions. Women feel better afterward because they have more space in their upper abdomen and breathe better.

When contractions arrive early, ask yourself three questions to evaluate them: Do between 10 and 15 contractions occur within 24 hours? Do they take place very regularly, for example, two every 20 minutes and then an hour break? Does your stomach get hard but you don't notice pulling or pain? If the answer is “yes”, in most cases these are laying contractions. But if you answer “no” to any of them, they could be early contractions.

Are there more signs that indicate early contractions?

When they occur in the afternoons or when you feel stressed or have suffered some physical damage. Extreme fatigue can also be a sign.

How are contractions detected?

Each woman feels them differently. In some cases, the stomach becomes hard or feels heavy, while in others the pain is similar to that of a period. You may also feel downward pressure.

Early contractions indicate something, what?

Your body and your baby tell you: calm down!

It's not always easy

Pregnancy is not a disease, but during these nine months, other circumstances prevail to which many women do not respond well. Pregnancy makes them more sensitive, and more emotional.

What is advisable?

The goal is to relax. Take frequent breaks, establish contact with the baby, and talk to him. Moms-to-be can tell their little ones to stay in the womb a little longer.

That helps?

Yes, because by taking consistent care of yourself, early contractions can disappear. Even if the cervix has been reduced, it can lengthen and stabilize again.

And bed rest?

This is a controversial topic. About 20 percent of contractions are triggered by the force of gravity because the child presses on the uterine muscle.

In this case, lying down helps, even if necessary with the belly elevated. However, a large part of early contractions is related to stress.

Also in this case it helps to be calm, with your legs up on the sofa, but it is not known if the effect comes from lying down or from relaxing and not worrying. However, if you just lie down and your head keeps spinning, it's of no use. You have to relax your body and mind.

But before childbirth, there is so much to do so that the child feels good afterward!

The important thing is that the mother is well. For that, she asks for help from her partner and her friends. If you have early contractions, you should tell your doctor how you notice them, when they occur, how you feel, and what scares you. Only those who feel good can relax.

What to do if, despite the pregnancy, you have to finish a project or have another child who requires more attention?

If you reduce your activity by around ten percent for a couple of weeks, no one will notice, neither the boss nor the children. And it will be very good for you

A couple of concrete examples?

It is important to take time to understand your own body. You should not do any activity that fatigues you.

What if no matter how much I take care of myself I don't get better?

Then the medicine is necessary. It helps some women to increase the dose of magnesium: it calms the muscles and not only prevents cramps in the calves but also contractions. From time to time, drugs that inhibit contractions, called tocolytics, are also necessary: ​​they relax the uterine muscle, but they have side effects.