What does false labor feel like in late pregnancy?

False labor, also known as frequent labor, is a type of intermittent labor. Its characteristics are that the time of its occurrence is irregular and its level is sometimes strong and sometimes weak. False labor begins around 6 weeks of pregnancy, but you won't feel it until the second trimester. During labor, false labor will occur more and more frequently due to the expansion stimulation of the lower uterine segment caused by the descending fetal head.

In the weeks before delivery, the uterine muscles are more sensitive and contractions may be irregular, continuous, fast, weak, or limited to the lower part of the uterus. If it stops after several hours and the cervix cannot dilate, it is not labor and is called false labor.

The false labor in the final stage of pregnancy is different from the painless and intermittent false labor in the early stage of pregnancy. False labor in early pregnancy is not likely to cause any changes in the cervix. The contractions at this time may help the cervix become "perfect": the cervix gradually becomes looser and softer. It may even cause the cervix to start dilating slightly. This stage sometimes marks the onset of early labor for pregnant women.

Causes of false labor

In the weeks before delivery, the uterine muscles are more sensitive and contractions may be irregular, continuous, fast, weak, or limited to the lower part of the uterus. If it stops after several hours and the cervix cannot dilate, it is not labor and is called false labor. This type of contraction is frequent, non-cyclical, irregular, and painless.

Symptoms of silent uterine contractions

1. In the second half of pregnancy, as the enlarged uterus begins to descend and the lowered head position of the fetus increases the pressure on the pelvis, pregnant women often feel that their abdomen is falling and their backs are bent. Starting from the 28th week of pregnancy, false labor contractions will often occur in the abdomen. If a pregnant woman stands or sits in the same posture for a long time, she will feel her abdomen hardening from time to time (i.e. abdominal tightness), which is false labor.

2. A few weeks before delivery, the uterine muscles are relatively sensitive, and irregular contractions may occur, with rapid and weak contractions, or they may only occur in the lower part of the uterus. If it stops after several hours and the cervix cannot dilate, it is not labor and is called false labor.

3. During labor, due to the expansion stimulation of the lower uterus caused by the descending fetal head, "false labor" will occur more and more frequently.