False labor pains can fool many would-be mothers. False labor pain is contractions that are highly irregular in nature. These contractions have no regularity and cause a general tightening of the abdomen. The membranes do not rupture. There is usually no bloody show. The pain seems to subside, if you change your position. If you are an expecting mother, you need to learn how to ignore it and prepare for labor pain that is for real.

During labor stage, you need to learn how to distinguish between natural labor pain in pregnancy, and fake labor pains. You can start by recording your contractions. You need to monitor how frequent the contractions are. For this you can jot down when they start and when they end. Real contractions last for around 30 seconds initially and can increase up to 60 seconds. If they are regular in nature then you can be sure that they are real symptoms of pain in pregnancy.

These are also known as Braxton Hicks contractions. The contractions are painful and rhythmic and can really fool you into believing that they are real contractions. The only way you can understand that it is not real contractions is by the fact that your cervix does not dilate significantly. There is a hitch in this too. Not all would-be-mothers experience such contractions. For some, they might be experiencing real ones and take it as false contractions. False contractions are really irritating and can interfere with your sleep and food pattern. You can get some relief by drinking lot of water or taking a hot bath. Always keep your doctor’s number by your side. Do not hesitate to call him as soon as you feel that matters are getting beyond your control. If it is a false alarm, at the most you will be embarrassed. It is any day better to be embarrassed than to end up in trouble.

In true labor contractions, the pain keeps growing stronger and stronger, irrespective of activity. But in case of false labor pains, the contractions stop after sometime. Moreover, the false contractions are felt more in the lower abdomen unlike real contractions, which are felt in the lower back and abdomen. At times, would-be-mothers attach too much importance to false contractions and get admitted in the hospital, only to realize that they are making a fool of themselves. In other cases, the mother takes the real contractions to be false ones and ignores them to find later that she took a big risk. Either way, do not feel embarrassed or frustrated with real or fake pains and take the situation in your stride.