Are BH stronger with subsequent children??

[Mummaof2]

I am 33 weeks pregnant and have been having BH the past few days but sometimes they are so strong that i'm starting to wonder if they are real contractions or am I just feeling them more and stronger as this is my 2nd pregnancy.

If anyone else has had the same it would be great to hear from you.





Mum_2B

[Funkychicken]

Hi Mum2B
This is my third pregnancy and I have had some really tight pains that I don't recall in my last two pregnancies. I do know after my second babe was born the afterpains were awful-much stronger than following first birth. The midwife told me these get stronger and more painful with each birth-GREAT! I'm looking forward to that-NOT!
Anyway, maybe it is the same with with BH-stronger with each pregnancy.
-----------------------------------------
Sal-6 wks to go!

[Foxymoron]

Yes it's common for BH to be more forceful in subsequent pregnancies :) LOL and the afterpains! OUCH!

[Mummaof2]

Thanks girls,

That puts my mind at ease a bit. I was starting to worry a bit that i was going to labour already. My DS needs to hold on for at least another 4 weeks so i can get everything up to date at work before i go on ML.

[mummycloud]

I didn't start getting any BH till the last week with all my pregnancies exept for my last (my 4th). It started at around 33 weeks and I never knew if it was labour or not. When it first happened at 33 weeks, they were 5 mintues apart and stayed that way for around 6 hours and my OB gave me meds to stop them.

It happened on and off for the rest of the pregnancy, but that was the only time it was stopped with meds. Sometimes it would last 8 hours and just stop as suddenly as it started.

The BH never dilated me at all. Even the day that I gave birth and the day before, I was having BH every 2 minutes and even sucking on gas like it was the real thing, but I didn't even dilate a single cm.
When it finally became "real" contractons, it was so agonizing I wanted someone to kill me...LOL
Good thing my labour only lasted 16 minutes.

If you are worried that they are very strong and regular get checked out at the hospital and if you haven't dilated then it probably means you have an irretable uterus like I did.

Good luck :)

[Angelmist♥]

When it finally became "real" contractons, it was so agonizing I wanted someone to kill me...LOL
Good thing my labour only lasted 16 minutes.

mummycloud- Are you serious????16 minutes my lordy!

I have a question too, do BH's show up on the CTG? One midwife I asked said yes and another said no............. :confused:

[mummycloud]

My BH showed up on the CTG, but even real contractions won't show up if it isn't on the right spot.

BH are still contractions and can be pretty strong and painfull, the only difference is real contrax do dilate you and BH don't.

[JanetF]

BH do serve a really neat purpose though :) They are sending extra bursts of oxygen-rich blood to your baby and placenta thus maintaining them in optimal condition! And yes, most women do experience them more strongly in subsequent pregnancies but then we tend to dilate a little faster as well, if we've laboured previously. Hooray for BH! Every twinge you get is helping ready you for labour and that has to be good!
:D