Braxton Hicks contractions, also called “false labor” or “practice contractions,” are your uterus’s way to warm up for delivery. Named for the English doctor who first described them, Braxton Hicks contractions are usually weak, don’t follow a regular pattern and can come and go.

About one-third of women experience Braxton Hicks contractions, according to a Wiser Pregnancy survey. Some women begin having them as early as the second trimester, although they’re more common in the third trimester.

Braxton Hicks contractions can be a little scary and are the cause of more than a few panicked calls to obstetricians! But they aren’t harmful in any way.

In fact, Braxton Hicks contractions can be helpful. They give you a chance to listen to your body and gauge what’s going on. You also get to test the relaxation and breathing exercises you learned in your birthing class – before real labor arrives.

So what can you do to manage Braxton Hicks contractions?

• 84% of women try to stay well-hydrated because dehydration can cause contractions
• 67% walk, change position or move around to get more comfortable
• 54% try relaxation exercises
• 49% take warm baths

The only true way to tell if you’re going into real labor is to have a doctor exam your cervix.  If your contractions are painful and regular, your water breaks, you have increased vaginal discharge, or you just can’t tell if you’re in labor, call your doctor.

Have you had Braxton Hicks contractions? What did they feel like, and what do you do?

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That’s why just over half of women choose to have an epidural, according to a Wiser Pregnancy survey. 

Not into the epidural? There are other pain relief options to choose from:

• Natural pain relief – Breathing and relaxation techniques – including massage, visualization or hypnosis – can help put you at ease and distract you, whether you choose another form of pain relief or not. 
• Analgesics and narcotics – These meds are injected into your thigh or butt via IV.  They temporarily decrease the perception of pain.
• Local anesthetics – These are injected directly into the tissue around the vagina to numb it before enlarging the opening with a cut (called an episiotomy) or repairing a tear. They provide temporary pain relief to a small area of the body.
• Pudendal block – This painkiller’s injected into the wall of the vagina to temporarily block pain between the vagina and anus. If your doctor needs to use forceps or vacuum extraction to deliver the baby, if you tear, or if you have an episiotomy, you may have a pudendal block.
• Spinal block –This painkiller’s injected into the fluid-filled space surrounding the spinal nerves. The effects are almost immediate and provide complete pain relief from the chest down for up to two hours. If there’s not time for an epidural (which takes around 20 minutes to go into effect), your doctor may recommend a spinal block.

But getting anxious about the pain won’t help you – or your baby. Instead, be prepared and discuss your options with your doctor before D-day.

For more information about epidurals and other pain relief options, click here. 

What pain relief options are you considering?  If you’ve already delivered once, what did you do, and how did it work for you?

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More women in the U.S. have been having Cesarean sections than ever before, despite the risks involved. In fact, 32% of babies born in 2007 were delivered via C-section – an all-time high.

 A Wiser Pregnancy survey bears this out. Of more than 1,500 women surveyed, 26% of them have had one previous C-section; 12% have had more than one surgical delivery. 

Of women who have had a C-section in the past, only 16% successfully delivered vaginally (VBAC) in a subsequent pregnancy.

Why are so many women having C-sections?

It’s not the reasons you might think. The increase in multiple births and older moms (with high-risk pregnancies requiring surgical delivery) could be a factor, yet C-section rates are higher for moms of singles and women under 25.

Instead, these 3 reasons may be to blame:

• Professional liability – More doctors are doing Cesareans to avoid liability in case something goes wrong during labor or delivery.
• Patient request – More women have been requesting surgical delivery, sometimes for convenience or because they don’t realize it’s a major medical procedure.
• Higher rates of induced labor – Women who are induced are more likely to not be able to give birth naturally, thus increasing the odds of a C-section.

Of course, C-sections can be necessary to save mothers’ and/or babies’ lives and prevent injury during labor and delivery. But there are downsides to the procedure: 

• The health of mothers and babies is not improving despite the increase of C-sections
• This is a major surgery, and women who have the procedure face the same risks as they would with any major surgery
• A C-section increases the risk of uterine rupture in subsequent pregnancies
• Surgical delivery increases the risk of placenta abnormalities in future pregnancies (which could lead to hemorrhaging and require a hysterectomy)
• C-sections result in much higher hospital charges compared to vaginal delivery

Have you discussed how you will deliver with your doctor?  If you’ve had a C-section, did the benefits outweigh the risks?

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The number of women who undergo vaginal birth after Cesarean (VBAC) has plummeted since the 1990s, according to a panel of experts at a national conference on the procedure. And many times it’s the hospital that says no.   

The panel found that one-third of babies are delivered by C-section in the U.S., and nine out of 10 of women who have one C-section have a repeat surgical delivery in future pregnancies.

A Wiser Pregnancy survey supports this. More than 90% of women choose to give birth in a hospital, and of the 1,510 U.S. women polled, 23% of respondents have delivered by Cesarean section, and 16% of women who have had a C-section in the past delivered vaginally in a subsequent pregnancy. 

So why are C-section rates high and VBAC rates low? 

It used to be that once a woman had one Cesarean section, all her future deliveries were as well, to prevent the risk of uterine rupture and possible maternal death.

These days, 60%–80% of women who attempt VBAC succeed.  The risk of uterine rupture is low, and VBAC requires less recovery time and allows more time for mothers to bond with their babies. 

In fact, the risk of maternal death due to C-section complications is three times higher than the risk with VBAC.

If you’re considering a VBAC, your doctor will likely consider these factors before giving the go-ahead: 

• Number of babies
• Baby’s position
• Number and location of previous incisions
• Mother’s overall health
• Baby’s size

Have you had a VBAC? And did our doctor support your wishes?

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However, you may want to reconsider, suggests a new study from the University of Rochester School of Medicine.  

The study found that inducing labor increases the risk that a woman will have a Cesarean delivery, one that she may not have needed if she’d waited to go into labor naturally.  The study found that 1 to 2 out of every 25 induced labors resulted in a C-section. 

Why is this a concern? Because C-sections, as common as they are, are still surgical procedures. As such, they are associated with several risks, including infection, maternal bleeding, blood clots and injury to mother or baby. Of course, C-sections are medically necessary in some circumstances: You have diabetes, high blood pressure and placenta problems; your baby is not growing well; or you’re 10 days past your due date.

However, if those don’t apply to you, the risks linked to being induced and having an unplanned C-section could outweigh the benefits.    

Fortunately, maternal health problems that may require earlier delivery are not common, according to a recent WiserPregnancy survey:

• 6% of women were diagnosed with gestational diabetes
• 5.6% of women were diagnosed with gestational hypertension (high blood pressure)
• 3.8% of women were diagnosed with placenta previa
• 1.1% of women were diagnosed with placental abruption

In many of these cases, doctors decided early delivery was necessary. 

If your condition doesn’t warrant early delivery, why is it better to wait for spontaneous (i.e., natural) labor?  Besides giving your baby more time to develop, women who are not induced avoid the risk that they will need an otherwise unnecessary C-section. 

Have you considered setting a date to be induced?  Why or why not?

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