I spent so much time trying to figure this out when I was pregnant with my daughter, and I am assuming if this post caught your attention, you probably have similar questions.

This is a hard question to answer, as women experience different types of sensations and intensities of labor depending on the length of their labor, interventions used and tolerance. This is why if you Google or Pinterest this question and read women’s birth stories, you will see repetitive answers such as, contractions feel like “period cramps” or “pressure in my butt”. Both of those are true things for a lot of women. But I think it is helpful to have an understanding of what a contraction is and what is happening in your body. This helps a lot of women wrap their head around what a contraction may feel like and then you can begin to practice breath work or other helpful tips for managing labor.

Quick anatomy lesson:

Your baby is comfy and cozy inside your uterus. Picture an upside down pear, the small end being the end that is down low in your pelvis (extending to your vagina), which is called your cervix.

Your uterus is made up of muscle and has a thick and tough lining. In fact, your uterus is actually the strongest muscle in your female body!

So, when your body is ready to deliver your baby, your uterus begins to contract and work to push baby out. Your uterus tightens (contracts) and squeezes, allowing your baby to move lower and lower with each contraction. This is a long process, but progress is made with every tightening (this can be a hard thing to remember when you’re in the thick of it.. but this is great for your support people to remind you of).

Your cervix (which is the area that begins to open, also known as effacement and dilation) is slowly opening through labor as your baby makes their way down and each contraction does work to make this happen. This is why you may feel pressure or intensity in different places at different times throughout your labor.

If you flex your arm muscle right now as if you are trying to show off, you can feel the tightening in your arm. It isn’t painful, but your arm is firming up and compressing. Imagine tightening and holding your flex for 30 seconds to a minute at first, for a couple of hours maybe, every 7 or 10 minutes. Then, imagine the tightening in your flex getting a bit stronger, as if you’re squeezing harder than before. The flex also lasts a minute or longer each time now, happening every 3-5 minutes and continues for a while. Take it a step further with these factors and now the time between each flex is getting shorter and you have less time to rest your arm, while the tightening is getting stronger.

This would be a similar analogy to what a contraction feels like and the progression of intensity. At first, it doesn’t really seem like it would be painful or unbearable. But as time goes on, it gets intense. It doesn’t necessarily mean you will have excruciating pain, it just means it is hard work and something to prepare for as those “flexes” become stronger and more frequent with less rest between.

 Often times when a mother gets to a point of saying things like: “I can’t do this anymore” or “this is too much, I can’t catch a break”, I would argue that it probably isn’t the pain alone that is the issue, but more the intensity and lack of rest after laboring for often several hours. Labor is hard work. It often interrupts our sleep pattern, meaning we also are running on less than one would hope for such a time as this.

With the strength of a contraction, for the duration of what labor can often be and for the energy level mothers often have, that as a whole is in my opinion is what mother’s describe and feel in labor. Not just the tightening of a contraction, but the emotional and physical toll that comes along with.

So when you ask the question, “what does a contraction feel like?”,  it is a pretty open ended question. The contraction itself will feel like tightening in your belly, which is exactly what it is. And in the beginning it will feel very bearable. But as the intensity begins to grow, so does the mental and emotional toll that comes along with hard work and lack of extended rest. 

Your baby is also moving and rotating during labor. You may feel a lot of back labor at some point in labor or maybe a lot of pressure in your rectum as baby moves down towards the end of the labor. These are not comfortable things.. in fact, these sensations can be described many different ways from different women.

I don’t share this to add worry to you, but to maybe shift your mindset about what labor could be for you. I think our world tells us that all labor is painful and the best way to get through it is pain medication so that you don’t feel anything. And for some, that may be what you desire. But that doesn’t come without difficulty and challenge in itself, so I encourage you to do your research.

I also encourage you to prepare for more than just “the pain”.

Preparing a laboring space that will be a place for you to relax and breathe is important.

Prepare for your labor by putting the to-do list down, not stressing over getting labor started as soon as possible and simply get some rest. Sleep may or not be practical depending on what early labor looks like and the time of day, but focus on doing something that is restful to your soul. Take a bath, spend time with your partner, watch a movie with your family, etc.

Prepare for labor by practicing breath work and keeping tension out of your body so that when things are intense and you are tired and don’t feel like you can keep going, you know you can.

Prepare for labor by making sure you have a support team in place that feels ready and equipped to carry you through the intensity and weariness that can come from all aspects of labor.

Most importantly, don’t get carried away with what your pain level may or may not be.

You’ve got this!