What are the causes of false labor?

The closer you get to the due date, the more likely you are to experience uterine contractions. This is undoubtedly a challenge for pregnant women who are having their first child. They are already very afraid and nervous about giving birth, and they become even more nervous and have a headache when they encounter frequent false contractions. Let me introduce to you how to distinguish between true and false contractions, and what causes false contractions.

False labor, also called prolonged labor. Its characteristics are that the time of occurrence is irregular and the degree varies from time to time. Before delivery, false labor will become more and more frequent due to the traction stimulation of the lower uterine segment caused by the descending fetal head. During the 36th to 38th week of pregnancy, the myometrium is in an insensitive state and uterine contractions rarely occur. After this transition period, the refractory period of the uterus ends and a series of physiological changes are completed in preparation for delivery.

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.

Uterine contractions usually begin about a month before delivery, and expectant mothers will feel that the frequency of contractions is increasing. When calculating uterine contractions, if the number of contractions per hour is around 10, it is considered to be relatively frequent. You should go to the hospital in time and have the doctor identify the nature of the contractions to prevent premature birth. If the contractions are not very frequent and there is no abdominal pain, just rest.

In fact, it is normal for pregnant women to experience false labor as they approach the delivery date. Pregnant mothers must ask their doctors more questions to understand the true phenomenon of labor contractions and be able to correctly distinguish them when they occur. They must not be nervous and afraid, which will lead to not being able to distinguish between true and false, and only focusing on their own fear, which will cause the baby in the belly to become nervous as well. There is no pattern to follow when it comes to false labor. Generally, it lasts for a short time and will be gone after a while. As long as pregnant mothers can distinguish them carefully, they will definitely not be confused.