What does a shrinking uterus mean?

We all know that women will experience uterine contractions and amniotic fluid rupture before giving birth. Doctors will wait until the uterine contractions slowly open to the extreme before letting women give birth, because this can not only reduce the occurrence of accidents, but also relieve women's pain. However, some women find that their uterus has shrunk while waiting for delivery. So what does a shrunken uterus mean?

In the early stages, contractions occur approximately every 10 minutes and are relatively mild. The intensity of uterine contractions gradually deepens, the frequency of contractions increases, about every 3 to 5 minutes, and the duration of each contraction becomes longer, lasting 50 to 60 seconds. Most of them appear in the lower abdomen, but when they spread to the lower back, it is a sign of impending birth.

In the late pregnancy, especially after the fetus is full-term, the expectant mother may give birth at any time, and the uterus will produce regular uterine contractions during delivery. It is a physiological contraction of the uterus and an important feature in clinical practice. With the regular contraction of the uterus, the baby will slowly be born from the vaginal opening. However, the process of uterine contraction and delivery is a long process, which may take 3-10 hours at the fastest or more than 20 hours at the slowest.

The contractions are not regular at the beginning and are relatively weak. As labor progresses, they gradually become regular, increase in intensity, and the intervals begin to shorten, such as 3-5 minutes between intervals and lasting 40-60 seconds. These are all symptoms of true uterine contractions, but false contractions can be felt occasionally in the second trimester, are not obvious, and do not occur regularly or continuously.

Uterine contractions will cause a feeling of tightness in the stomach and pain in the lower abdomen, which will occur throughout the pregnancy. The contractions in the early and middle pregnancy will be irregular and without regularity, which is a false contraction. Only the contractions in the late pregnancy have their own characteristics in terms of the interval and regularity of the contractions, which is a true contraction and it is a necessary process for having a baby.

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