Braxton Hicks Contractions - Tuesday 27th March 2007

On Tuesday night I had my first Braxton Hick Contractions. There were just a couple that went on for a few minutes but I could really feel them.

What are Braxton Hicks contractions?
Sometime towards the middle of your pregnancy (or even earlier), you may notice the muscles of your uterus tightening for anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds. Not all women feel these random, usually painless contractions, which get their name from John Braxton Hicks, an English doctor who first described them in 1872. Doctors and midwives believe that Braxton Hicks contractions are part of your body getting ready for labour, and that they get the processes of effacement and dilation going in preparation for delivery. (This is called 'ripening'.)