What happens when I have frequent contractions but my cervix doesn’t open?

Uterine contractions are the most direct phenomenon for women to judge the arrival of the fetus, because uterine contractions will cause the fetus to be squeezed out of the uterus, thus achieving birth. In recent years, more and more pregnant women have experienced symptoms of frequent uterine contractions, but the cervix is ​​slow to open. This is a long and painful torture for pregnant women. What happens when the uterine contractions are frequent but the cervix does not open?

In the weeks before delivery, the uterine muscles are more sensitive and there will be irregular uterine contractions that are short-lived, weak, or limited to the lower abdomen or groin area. If it stops after several hours, it will not cause the cervix to open or the fetal head to descend, so it is not labor and is called false labor. This type of contraction is irregular, non-cyclical, and painless. Some pregnant women can even feel irregular uterine contractions during the second trimester. It is more common in multiparas than in primiparas.

Clinical manifestations

1. In the middle and late stages of pregnancy, as the enlarged uterus begins to descend and the descent of the fetal head increases the pressure on the pelvis, pregnant women often feel their abdomen falling and their backs unable to straighten. 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. This is called false labor.

2. A few weeks before delivery, the uterine muscles are more sensitive and irregular uterine contractions will occur, which are short-lived, weak, or limited to the lower part of the uterus. It stops after several hours and cannot cause the cervix to open, so it is not labor and is called false labor.

3. Before delivery, false labor will become more and more frequent due to the traction stimulation of the lower part of the uterus caused by the descending fetal head.