Episode 79
Braxton Hicks vs Early Labor
This podcast episode elucidates the complexities of Braxton Hicks contractions and the pre-labor experience, drawing from the personal journey of the host, Savannah, who recently welcomed her daughter, Penelope. A salient point of discussion revolves around the confusion surrounding the terminology associated with labor, particularly the misclassification of early labor as Braxton Hicks. We delve into the physical sensations experienced during pre-labor, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between true early labor and false labor to alleviate undue stress for expectant parents. Furthermore, Savannah recounts her labor story, highlighting the emotional turmoil and misconceptions encountered throughout the process. This episode serves as a clarion call for better education and understanding regarding labor terminology, aiming to empower individuals navigating the profound journey of childbirth.
Takeaways:
- In today's episode, we delved into the intricate nuances of pre-labor and active labor, emphasizing the differences between these critical stages of childbirth.
- We shared our personal birth story, highlighting the confusion surrounding Braxton Hicks contractions and the terminology often misused in obstetrics.
- It is essential for expectant parents to understand the psychological impact of labor terminology, particularly how it can influence perceptions of childbirth.
- We discussed the historical context of Braxton Hicks contractions, named after a 19th-century physician, and conveyed the importance of questioning outdated medical terminology.
- Our experience underscored the necessity for better education and support for first-time parents entering the pre-labor phase and preparing for active labor.
- We concluded by encouraging our listeners to cherish their pre-labor period, fostering love and support within their families as they await the arrival of their child.
Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker A:And welcome back to Casting Seeds.
Speaker A:I'm Savannah, your holistic health practitioner and host, and you're listening to the only holistic health podcast that uses God's singular truth to give you individualized discernment.
Speaker A:Today's episode is exciting because you may hear little baby coos in the background because Penelope Allora is here and she's actually a week old in one day.
Speaker A:Jeremiah is working and holding her across the room.
Speaker A:And we're going to try to record a bunch of episodes this week on pre labor Braxton Hicks.
Speaker A:We also wanted to share our birth story and the labor story because it is insane and Jeremiah is still healing from it, believe it or not.
Speaker A:And yeah, Penelope's the only one who came out unscathed out of that situation.
Speaker A:I'm probably second best.
Speaker A:Jeremiah had a hard time, right, babe?
Speaker A:It means that we're gonna have a really awesome story.
Speaker A:That's what that means.
Speaker A:And then we also wanted to talk about lactation consultants and just things that we didn't know that we needed to know before having Penelope.
Speaker A:And, and just for, especially for first time moms or maybe moms that have had kids and have really struggled.
Speaker A:Some suggestions that would really help.
Speaker A:But today's episode specifically is going to be on Braxton Hicks and kind of everything leading up to about to have baby and going into active labor.
Speaker A:Because there were a lot of terms thrown around at us and maybe it's because we didn't have a midwife, I'm not sure.
Speaker A:But even just friends and family, like, they would confuse words like Braxton Hicks.
Speaker A:They didn't even know what pre labor was.
Speaker A:Most people, even people who have had kids versus active labor.
Speaker A: Braxton Hicks was alive from: Speaker A:Like, it wasn't even a part of last century.
Speaker A: Like, we're in, we're in the: Speaker A:So I just, you know, doesn't mean that it's inaccurate information, but when something's, you know, closer to 200 years old, it should probably be questioned a little bit or even just challenged in any way, shape or form, just like any other study.
Speaker A:And there are a lot of studies that have challenged Braxton Hicks and I'm just surprised that that isn't discussed, especially with obs and in doctors.
Speaker A:So this is important because this also leads into our labor story and how it was very confusing and almost, I don't know, I felt like we were very much brushed.
Speaker A:Brushed aside in the hospital when we even were coming in between five and 10 minutes apart.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I just want to get into that today.
Speaker A:So we're going to start with talking about what pre labor is versus active labor and how to tell the difference.
Speaker A:You can hear her.
Speaker A:She just finished feeding and she's a little burpee.
Speaker A:And then we're going to talk about Braxton Hicks and the origin and history of him and how that all started.
Speaker A:And then some studies that not necessarily disagree with everything that Braxton Hicks said or did, but more so questioning the aspects of Braxton Hicks contractions in general and specifically in the terminology and the psychological impact that it can create on a family who's about to have a child.
Speaker A:So let's get into it.
Speaker A:So pre labor is also called latent phase or early labor.
Speaker A:And this can be weeks long.
Speaker A:When they talk about having the marathon before the sprint, this is the part that nobody educated Jeremiah and I on that we didn't even know we had to worry or think or prepare for this phase.
Speaker A:And it was so long and so exhausting in a way that we wished people just kind of loved on us more during this time.
Speaker A:Yeah, we.
Speaker A:So to kind of give you our perspective, I gave birth on 25 August to Penelope.
Speaker A:But a week before that, the Monday before that is when I went in for my just kind of general OB check because it was weekly at that point.
Speaker A:And that Monday, he was like, oh, you're 1cm dilated.
Speaker A:And I just thought that was interesting because a lot of women don't even know when they're all the way up to 4cm dilated.
Speaker A:It can just kind of naturally happen.
Speaker A:And that's the pre labor stage or the latent phase.
Speaker A:And he told me the OB used this words, he said, your Braxton Hicks will start to kick up at this point.
Speaker A:So obviously then I just assumed Braxton Hicks contractions were, you know, the sporadic, random contractions that just happened, like even throughout pregnancy.
Speaker A:But my actual OB ended up using the terminology wrong because once you are actually dilated, it technically isn't a Braxton Hicks contraction anymore.
Speaker A:When you're dilated, that is the latent phase or early phase of labor.
Speaker A:And this is the marathon that's going to prepare you for the sprint, which is 6cm dilated onwards.
Speaker A:I also want to give you guys some honesty, too.
Speaker A:Some people can give birth literally at 6 cm dilated.
Speaker A:Or at 5.
Speaker A:I haven't really heard it around 3 or 4, but basically 5 and up.
Speaker A:There's any opportunity that your baby can come within 20 minutes to hours, to 20 hours.
Speaker A:So when we heard that we were 1cm dilated.
Speaker A:We now thought like, oh, my gosh, we're in early labor.
Speaker A:She can come any day now.
Speaker A:My parents came the next day to pick up our dogs because my contractions were definitely.
Speaker A:They would rev up, and then they would go back down, and then I.
Speaker A:They would rev up, and then they would go back down.
Speaker A:But this happened consistently for, like, five days, where they would sometimes drop to, like, an hour apart, 30 minutes apart, 20 minutes apart.
Speaker A:And we were like, okay, we think that she might come today.
Speaker A:And then all of a sudden, I'd go back to having zero contractions.
Speaker A:And by definition, that is not Braxton Hicks.
Speaker A:Braxton Hicks contractions are when they're just random and sporadic and also not in the late stages of your pregnancy.
Speaker A:Braxton Hicks will happen in, like, your second trimester or early parts of your third trimester that aren't necessarily the safest parts of your body going into labor.
Speaker A:And Braxton Hicks contractions also are known for opening and expanding the womb for your baby to grow.
Speaker A:So you'll get kind of like a pool or a tug, something that's uncomfortable once or twice a day, and it's your womb expanding for your baby to also expand.
Speaker A:I also want to say, too, a lot of people have asked me, like.
Speaker A:Like, when would you have been comfortable to be able to give birth to Penelope?
Speaker A:And, I mean, I think full gestation is the best always.
Speaker A:If you can have your baby at 40 weeks plus, that's your baby fully baked.
Speaker A:Her.
Speaker A:His or her lungs are fully developed, which is one of the last things that develop in a child.
Speaker A:Um, you.
Speaker A:You want that full developed gestational period.
Speaker A:It doesn't mean that you can't give birth at 36 weeks or 38 weeks and all those things safely.
Speaker A:But there's a reason why, even at the hospital, at 36 weeks, they'd put your baby in the NICU, which is what Jeremiah and I did not want.
Speaker A:Oh, my alarm just went off for feeding her.
Speaker A:I thought I turned that off.
Speaker A:That was my bad.
Speaker A:I'm just gonna leave that in, because guess what?
Speaker A:This is the cluster feeding, which we'll get to in another episode, but we're feeding her every two hours anyway.
Speaker A:So my opinion for giving birth, especially because we almost considered just doing it at home because a nurse literally told us like, oh, you don't, you don't want any support here, so why don't you just go home when you're ready to push, come back to the hospital.
Speaker A:I was, I can't even tell you how stressful that was.
Speaker A:We were like, at that point, I'm just gonna give birth at home.
Speaker A:But Jeremiah and I did consider doing a non assisted birth, but.
Speaker A:And I'm really glad that we didn't because we were so overwhelmed even at the hospital.
Speaker A:And I'm really thankful.
Speaker A:I think I would have been really freaked out if it was.
Speaker A:If she, we gave birth to her at any time between 37 and 38 weeks.
Speaker A:Just because I know the lungs are normally more fully developed at around 39 weeks.
Speaker A:So for me personally, I think it's best if you can.
Speaker A:If your baby does come right on time or a little bit later.
Speaker A:But honestly, your God knows exactly what day and what time is best for you and your baby and the purpose that he's going to use your child for.
Speaker A:And if that means your baby's born in the second trimester and survives and does great, amazing.
Speaker A:If that means early third trimester or late third trimester or super late, like going into what's considered the fourth trimester.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Which we did because we were 40 weeks in one day, then that's, that's God's timing.
Speaker A:And that's God's.
Speaker A:Honestly, that's what he wanted for you and your child.
Speaker A:And he's going to use your child and you and your family in every situation.
Speaker A:So there's also no.
Speaker A:I feel like people get kind of wrapped up in the, in the timing of it.
Speaker A:And Jeremiah and I definitely were.
Speaker A:When we were told that we were having Braxton Hits Hicks contractions when we weren't or we weren't really told that we were in early labor.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I just.
Speaker A:That marathon aspect of that entire week before leading up to actually giving birth and going into labor, which it was literally a week.
Speaker A:We found out we were dilating it on Monday.
Speaker A:I gave birth the very next Monday and that up and down emotionally every single day.
Speaker A:And Jeremiah worried, like, does he have to take work off.
Speaker A:I wish that someone just came to us and just really had us focus and rest in the word and just realize like, it's, it's okay even if we give birth today, right now, you're okay.
Speaker A:And we had the car packed at 37 weeks because that's kind of recommended.
Speaker A:And I also don't recommend that.
Speaker A:I recommend having your bag ready to go Outside of your car.
Speaker A:But there are things like my cupping set that I wish I was using that whole week leading up before because my back was hurting really badly and I didn't even know that I was going into back labor, which that's a whole other conversation we're going to have because we didn't even know what that was.
Speaker A:But it was the worst and so painful.
Speaker A:Um, so that's like these things, like I wish people discussed with us before heading into the sprint, which is active labor.
Speaker A:I wish people told us how to nourish ourselves and how to rest and checked in with us.
Speaker A:And not just checking in, like, where are you at?
Speaker A:What do you think you're at?
Speaker A:What are you dilated at?
Speaker A:What are your contractions at?
Speaker A:Because it felt like we were trying to be rushed to have the baby rather than people being like, can we just come and like, is there any last minute things that you need to get your house ready?
Speaker A:Do you need any food?
Speaker A:How are you feeling today?
Speaker A:Are you exhausted?
Speaker A:You know, that kind of stuff?
Speaker A:It wasn't that type of a check in.
Speaker A:And I just really want to.
Speaker A:To.
Speaker A:I just really, really, really want to say that if you have a friend or if you're going to go into this and you realize you're in the early stages of labor, which we also did not do the sweep.
Speaker A:When my doctor told me that I was dilated at A1, he said, do you want me to do there's like a membrane sweep that you can do to make me go into labor faster.
Speaker A:And I knew I wanted my body to open up.
Speaker A:And by the way, there are studies which is something I wanted to mention today.
Speaker A:There are studies that prove that if you do not do a membrane sweep or you don't do, like any type of inducing and you let your body slowly come into its own natural labor, that your baby actually drops down much more safely and it causes a lot less complications or possibility for complications in the future because your body doesn't feel so rushed.
Speaker A:It's not that hot in here.
Speaker A:We had to turn off our air conditioning and fan so I could record.
Speaker A:And Jeremiah, he started off with, like, just taking off.
Speaker A:He started off with just taking off his pants, you know, to like, cool down.
Speaker A:So he's in his underwear and his shirt.
Speaker A:And then he walks back in.
Speaker A:Penelope's not dressed.
Speaker A:She's in a diaper.
Speaker A:And Jeremiah in boxers walking around, so they just look like two big naked babies.
Speaker A:Anyway, so I just.
Speaker A:I wanted to say that for the marathon, I really would wish that People just told us to rest and enjoy our last few days or weeks or whatever, together as a couple, instead of just asking, is she here yet?
Speaker A:Is she diet?
Speaker A:Do you need help to be dilate?
Speaker A:Like, people just.
Speaker A:It's like the moment they heard I was dilating, it became all about Penelope and not about pouring into us as our last week as a couple alone.
Speaker A:And I really.
Speaker A:I don't regret it because we learned a lot, but I really wish that, like, we spent more alone time together and focused on each other more and getting in the word in that way.
Speaker A:But, yeah, so I recommend that.
Speaker A:So going back to pre labor, right?
Speaker A:Early labor.
Speaker A:So these types of contractions, just to give you the definition, they are irregular, just like Braxton Hicks.
Speaker A:And I think that's why these terminologies get mixed up all the time, even though it's not accurate.
Speaker A:Uh, pre labor does have irregular timing, but it was more like what Jeremiah and I were experiencing, where it'd be consistent for, like, half the day and then go away for the rest of the day, or it'd be consistent for two or three hours, and then it would go away.
Speaker A:And that's because your body's naturally dilating to prepare for active labor, which is when your body starts opening up even more.
Speaker A:Uh, and it also may feel like kind of like peer period cramps or like backaches.
Speaker A:Um, but it will.
Speaker A:The intensity will kind of go to, like, mild to moderate and then completely vanish.
Speaker A:Also, your cervical changes will happen.
Speaker A:So because your cervix is softening, it's that thin, you know, like a thin mucus.
Speaker A:And this is where people can have their water break.
Speaker A:Or, like, there's two parts of your water sack, so you can have the outer lining break, which is a lighter, you know, squirt of water, or sometimes it's just dripping.
Speaker A:And then there's also, like, your big water gush, which mine popped during labor.
Speaker A:And I'm so glad it didn't pop before that, because it would have.
Speaker A:It's a lot more than you just peeing your pants.
Speaker A:It was huge, like, an explosion of water.
Speaker A:It was insane.
Speaker A:So also, in the cervical changes, it's normally slow and gradual, which is why this is the marathon, right?
Speaker A:It's like that slow, consistent things will cramp up and then release.
Speaker A:And the duration of these.
Speaker A:This is what made me the most confused and the most frustrated, is because it will feel like you're going into.
Speaker A:Like, you're like, oh, my gosh, like, the baby can come any second, and you kind of get that urgency as a woman in labor, like, oh, this is, this is actually happening.
Speaker A:But then when it's like day in and day out and then like you're checking your blood pressure, which is a thing that we also didn't know that we had to do until last minute, buying a blood pressure machine.
Speaker A:By the way, the only thing that worked for us to lower my blood pressure wasn't coconut water, wasn't all the fancy expensive herbs and things that I can do.
Speaker A:It was literally taking the off brand version.
Speaker A:Not even the brand version of Pedialyte, but the off brand version of Pedialyte is the only thing, for some reason that lowered my blood pressure.
Speaker A:I don't, I don't know why, but it kept me super relaxed and my body felt more hydrated on that than any anything else that I ever took or drank.
Speaker A:And it helped immensely.
Speaker A:So obviously we know too that early labor, the purpose is to have the cervix and the uterus open for active labor.
Speaker A:But there are some good tips that you can do.
Speaker A:A lot of people say to do those curb walks, and I'm going to tell you right now, I, as an alignment therapist, do not like curb walking.
Speaker A:Your hips are opening up for labor, which is awesome.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:But you have so much relaxing in you that if you do those curb walks where you're like hiking your hip on one side and then going to the other side, you can actually throw your hips out of alignment and make labor so much more painful and worse.
Speaker A:So I don't recommend curb walking, but eat kind of light food.
Speaker A:You'll notice that your body won't want to eat as much.
Speaker A:Oh my gosh.
Speaker A:Poor thing.
Speaker A:Hey, honey.
Speaker A:Oh, it was time for her feeding earlier, my love.
Speaker A:She might be hungry again because the two o' clock feeding is.
Speaker A:Oh man.
Speaker A:Then she's just burpee and frustrated.
Speaker A:Yeah, this is new mom life.
Speaker A:Also, you guys, this probably won't be a thing going forward.
Speaker A:I just wanted you to hear, like, this is our life and we're a week into it now and this is what it's like being a mom.
Speaker A:But yeah, so I, this was the other big thing.
Speaker A:So hydrating really helped with lowering my blood pressure and also relaxing us.
Speaker A:But not eating really heavy meals once you realize you're in that pre labor stage.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:Whenever I ate a heavy meal, it slowed down my labor and I actually realized like, the more that I ate, the less my body felt ready, ready to go.
Speaker A:Like it literally would stop those contractions that I was having.
Speaker A:So having a Lot of light food and eating consistently.
Speaker A:Resting a lot.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Going on walks obviously helps a lot too.
Speaker A:Um, but you'll.
Speaker A:You'll feel exhausted because your body's starting to conserve energy for labor, for the sprint.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Um, and that sprint, if you're doing it all natural like I did, is insane.
Speaker A:And I can't wait to explain why when we get there.
Speaker A:So let's go into a little bit into active labor, because I'll.
Speaker A:Jeremiah and I will discuss that more obviously when we share our labor story.
Speaker A:But active labor is just like, stronger, longer contractions, and they tend to last anywhere between 45 to 60 seconds.
Speaker A:They can also last even longer between three to five minutes, which is what mine were.
Speaker A:And they were gnarly.
Speaker A:And also, too, it requires, like, your full focus.
Speaker A:So that was also a really great tip that my friend gave me, Liz, where she said, you'll know that you're going more into active labor when you can't just kind of, like, laugh and talk through it anymore.
Speaker A:Like, I have to, like, literally, you bear down and focus, and you're like, whoa, I can't even.
Speaker A:Everything else is tunnel vision.
Speaker A:There's also.
Speaker A:So there's the beginning stages of active labor, and then there's like, we're about to push active labor, too, which I'll get into, but those are significantly different.
Speaker A:I feel like there's more.
Speaker A:Three stages of labor, not two, but that's just me.
Speaker A:The cervical changes, obviously, so you're like, around 4 to 7 centimeters and up to 8 centimeters dilated, kind of depending.
Speaker A:But all of this all together kind of encompasses, like, your pre labor is done.
Speaker A:You're now in active labor, and the hospital will tell you not to come until you're at least five to six minutes apart in contractions.
Speaker A:And I'm going to tell you, no, like, get there.
Speaker A:You can even lie.
Speaker A:I don't even care.
Speaker A:Just say you're five minutes apart.
Speaker A:We were in between five and 10 minutes.
Speaker A:Like, it would fluctuate.
Speaker A:And we knew we wanted to get there.
Speaker A:We wanted to set up essential oils.
Speaker A:We wanted to make the room feel comfortable.
Speaker A:And I was actually getting anxious, knowing this is not where I'm going to give birth.
Speaker A:I have to give birth somewhere that's 10 to 15 minutes away, depending on traffic.
Speaker A:And if we don't get there in time, I'm gonna have to give birth in the car or at home.
Speaker A:And knowing that I wasn't in a place to get settled and made me anxious and actually made my contractions more painful.
Speaker A:So going Somewhere getting settled, feeling relaxed makes a huge difference.
Speaker A:And that's why I actually think home birth, like knowing if I could have given birth at home, it would have been much more relaxing.
Speaker A:But I also don't think I could have done my, like my mom, it's not screams, but like, you know, loudly because we share a wall and we gave birth to her at 10, 10, 17pm So I just was nervous.
Speaker A:I was like, what if I give birth at 4 in the morning and I'm like screaming and the kids next door just got back into school?
Speaker A:I would have felt so bad.
Speaker A:So that's the difference between early labor and active labor.
Speaker A:And I would say the biggest thing is the more of the emotional difference is understanding, like when I emotionally could not even focus on other people around me, when I was like bare bearing down and really focusing on getting, letting the, my body naturally push the baby down, that was a huge, huge indicator that I was like, yeah, it's time, it's time to go.
Speaker A:Even though the hospital tried to fight me on it.
Speaker A:So whatever.
Speaker A:But to sum it up, pre labor, the contractions are irregular, a little bit more mild, and there's like gradual changes and you can usually rest or like distract yourself through them and.
Speaker A:And active labor.
Speaker A:Not that you can't rest or distract yourself through the active labor, but it's more so like every single time you're working hard, this is the labor part.
Speaker A:You're working hard to take yourself in and out of those rhythmic, closer together, steady contractions because your dilation is happening super quickly to have the baby come through.
Speaker A:So there's also like some cases of false labor and things like that, but which we can get into another time.
Speaker A:But, but to get now summing this all up, because you have to know these things now going into Braxton Hicks.
Speaker A:And I feel like the reason why women get super nervous when they find out that they're having Braxton Hicks contractions, especially in their second trimester or early third trimester, is because, like what my OB said when I was in early labor, he said that I was having Braxton Hicks contractions.
Speaker A:So then women and men, like husbands, you know, you guys start to think like, well, great, if you have Braxton Hicks contractions, that means the baby can come in anytime and I need severe bed rest.
Speaker A:And you know, all these things, and that's not true.
Speaker A:But let's go into the history of Braxton Hicks really quickly.
Speaker A:So Braxton Hicks contractions are those kind of like practice contractions.
Speaker A:And many women feel in the second or third trimester, that they're starting to go into early labor because of it.
Speaker A:And that is completely inaccurate.
Speaker A:They're named after Dr. John Braxton Hicks.
Speaker A: n who first described them in: Speaker A:Here's a little breakdown.
Speaker A: John Braxton Hicks lived from: Speaker A: In: Speaker A:Stay quiet between labor and pregnancy.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So it's actually contracting, and it does it sporadically throughout pregnancy so that, again, your uterus can grow and expand for baby and for your placenta.
Speaker A:Um, he distinguished between true labor contractions, which is like that rhythmic.
Speaker A:I can't talk.
Speaker A:The rhythmic increasing intensity leading to dilation, which is what we discussed before, and the painless.
Speaker A:It should be painless.
Speaker A:So this is the biggest thing.
Speaker A:Painless, irregular contractions that don't cause cervical change.
Speaker A:So that was always really confusing to me because it's like, how do you have a contraction that's painless?
Speaker A:And how do you then.
Speaker A:How do you know you're having one if you don't feel it?
Speaker A:And normally a contraction has some sort of pain associated with it.
Speaker A:So that was always really confusing.
Speaker A:And I found out, by the way, I never had a Braxton Hicks contraction the entire time, even though I was told I was.
Speaker A:So his paper introduced the concept that these were a normal physiological phenomenon, and they're not always a sign of preterm or active labor.
Speaker A:So if your doctor ever tells you and you're getting close to giving birth that you are having Braxton Hicks or your midwife or whomever, they do not understand a lot of the basis of their job.
Speaker A:And actually, I think it would be a good way to interview any OB or midwife is ask them their opinion on Braxton Hicks and what time they normally come and have them educate you on it.
Speaker A:And if they don't understand the difference between pre labor and active, like Braxton Hicks, that's kind of a red flag.
Speaker A:And I didn't realize that my OB didn't know that until the week before our labor.
Speaker A:So there was no going back.
Speaker A:So you'll hear Jeremiah kind of shushing and helping Penelope a little bit.
Speaker A:Are you okay?
Speaker A:Is she just fussy?
Speaker A:I'm sorry, baby.
Speaker A:This is the first time she's really been fussy during the day for no reason.
Speaker A:So I'm gonna try to sum this up quickly so I can help Jeremiah, and then we'll do more podcast episodes later.
Speaker A:But Braxton Hicks contractions, again, they're the intermittent, irregular tightening of the uterus.
Speaker A:It's your uterus tightening.
Speaker A:It's usually not painful, although sometimes it can just be kind of slightly uncomfortable.
Speaker A:But then it should go away really quickly.
Speaker A:They don't cause any cervical dilation.
Speaker A:They shouldn't cause any bleeding.
Speaker A:There should be no effect anyway, whatsoever.
Speaker A:Except for your uterus is tightening and then expanding and contracting for your baby to have room and your placenta to grow.
Speaker A:So scientifically understanding, physiologically, they're thought to be kind of like your uterus practicing and toning for labor, which is what I kind of disagree with.
Speaker A:Um, the increased blood flow also brings more nutrients to the placenta, and it also helps prepare the uterine muscle fibers for coordinated contractions during labor.
Speaker A:Yes and no.
Speaker A:From the studies that I found is that the Braxton Hicks contractions are more.
Speaker A:So it's just that expanding aspect and helping tone, if anything, your abdomen and your back.
Speaker A:Back muscles, not so much the uterus for labor.
Speaker A:So modern studies and ultrasounds, I've actually shown that moderating this or monitoring this confirmed that the uterus contracts throughout pregnancy consistently.
Speaker A:So Braxton Hicks contractions aren't necessarily wrong, but the mental aspect behind them can actually be really daunting for the husband and wife during that time.
Speaker A:So now, going into the other studies, we.
Speaker A:Which is what I found.
Speaker A:Um, so there is.
Speaker A:Let's get rid of the term Braxton Hicks contractions.
Speaker A: That's a study from: Speaker A:Um, there's another one called the effects of Uter Placental perfusion, the impact of Fetal heart pondering, and also terminology matters.
Speaker A:So let's go into it.
Speaker A:Uh, looking at the.
Speaker A: e term Braxton hicks from the: Speaker A:I can't even talk obstructed.
Speaker A:Whatever.
Speaker A:Gynecology.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's a gynecology department.
Speaker A:They argued that labeling certain uterine activity during the second and early third trimester as Braxton Hicks, could inadvertently pressure patients to delay or cause preterm labor activity because they think that they're going into labor.
Speaker A:So they measured the mental health capacity of, like, when women are told that they have Braxton Hicks, even if they didn't have any.
Speaker A:And it showed that some women went into labor much earlier or they actually delayed real labor, like, if they were later.
Speaker A:So, like, for me, I was told I was having Braxton Hicks, and I knew.
Speaker A:I was like, this is early labor.
Speaker A:This isn't Braxton Hicks.
Speaker A:So that can actually delay your labor later because you.
Speaker A:You're just told, like, oh, it's not a big deal.
Speaker A:It's just Braxton Hicks.
Speaker A:So depending on how your OB says it, like, oh, you're.
Speaker A:You're having Braxton Hicks contractions, it's not a big deal.
Speaker A:Then your labor can actually get delayed.
Speaker A:Or if you're earlier and they're like, hey, this is a big deal.
Speaker A:You're having Braxton Hicks contractions.
Speaker A:And because the word contractions is a part of it, which is actually a part of labor, people tend to get nervous and then give birth too early, and then that's when you can have a NICU baby.
Speaker A:So they did a study showing that actually it can manipulate labor up to 80%, either in the early labor or procrastinating labor, depending on how it's said to women.
Speaker A:So that's how much it can emotionally affect a family, which is insane.
Speaker A: s study, and this was done in: Speaker A:I don't like the term Braxton Hicks contractions.
Speaker A:I don't even.
Speaker A:It doesn't make sense to me why it's even a term when it's just your body naturally expanding for the baby to grow.
Speaker A:Like, why does it even matter to talk about it?
Speaker A:Um, the.
Speaker A:Also the effects of utero place central perfusion.
Speaker A: a color flow imaging study in: Speaker A:In a woman with already impaired uterine blood flow.
Speaker A:So if a woman had issues, like to her uterus and also to her.
Speaker A:I can't even.
Speaker A:To her, like urine and like urethra, if she was having issues in general, Braxton Hicks contractions could further reduce blood flow to the placenta in general.
Speaker A:So because it's contracting, right?
Speaker A:Because it's squeezing and then releasing the blood flow can actually make the placenta not grow as much.
Speaker A:And so then that's when women would need to be put on bed rest to not allow contractions to happen more.
Speaker A:But here's the thing.
Speaker A:This is.
Speaker A:This study specifically was trying to make it clear that when people found out that they had Braxton Hicks contractions, they weren't sure if it was actually Braxton Hicks or if it was putting them into early labor.
Speaker A:And that study still is inconclusive to this day.
Speaker A: And again, that's why the: Speaker A:Uh, instead of just telling women, hey, your uterus is contracting, it's moving, um, it's growing so that baby can grow and what you're feeling isn't scary and it's not a big deal, it's totally natural.
Speaker A:But yeah, obviously you'd have to be working with an OB and finding out what type of movement is happening for you and your baby.
Speaker A:So the last thing too is it impacts your fetal heart monitoring.
Speaker A:Monitoring.
Speaker A:Jeremiah and I opted out of the non stress test, which to me was very stressful because Penelope hated it every time I did it, which was one time, but she even hated the Doppler when she was little.
Speaker A: ecent study, which is between: Speaker A:So long term variability and had less alterations or I'm sorry, accelerations of heart rate for baby, so their baby was less stressed and mom was less stressed for their overall well being.
Speaker A:It wasn't a hundred percent conclusive or definitive because they, because heart rate machines for like fetal heart rate monitoring are actually 60% inconclusive.
Speaker A:So like when you get the non stress Test, up to 60% of that information isn't even accurate.
Speaker A:That's why also we decided, decided to opt out for them because we were like, why am I spending an extra hundred dollars per appointment when I'm already getting an ultrasound done?
Speaker A:Like this is stupid.
Speaker A:So with that being said, that's why we opted out of non stress tests because I knew they make things more stressful.
Speaker A:And on top of that, I never was told I had Braxton Hicks until I was actually in early labor, which who knows if that prolonged my labor or not, but I don't know, we'll never know because I didn't get measured.
Speaker A:Um, and then on top of that too, Braxton Hicks is normally used out of term for early labor and can stress out families in general.
Speaker A:So especially with women who have had miscarriages, you hear Braxton Hicks contractions and then women worry that they're going to lose their child too early, especially in the second trimester.
Speaker A:So with all this being said, these are studies that question Braxton Hicks contractions.
Speaker A:They don't question whether or not it happens because obviously your body's going to contract and grow just like any other muscle in your body.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Your body has to contract and then relax to in order for it to be able to function properly.
Speaker A:So you contract a muscle and then it has to relax fully.
Speaker A:And that's what your uterus is doing.
Speaker A:It will contract and then relax for it to be able to grow.
Speaker A:And outside of that, it's totally normal.
Speaker A:So the next time that you hear the term Braxton Hicks contractions or somebody's talking to you about it, I just want you to know that especially depending on where you are in pregnancy, it's not that they're inaccurate, it's just you have to be able to take yourself into the mental health space of, okay, this is a natural thing that God created for my body and muscles to grow and for baby to be able to grow.
Speaker A:Is this an actual stressful thing?
Speaker A:Do I need to monitor it?
Speaker A:No, it also.
Speaker A:Is it being used improperly?
Speaker A:Am I actually having more real, closer together, consistent contractions versus not so again.
Speaker A:Using wisdom and discernment and being educated is really, really important.
Speaker A:And I'm really thankful that I never felt it.
Speaker A:I mean, I know it happened, it has to happen for it to grow, but I never felt it or cared.
Speaker A:Even when we had our two really big bleeds during pregnancy, I never felt any type of cramping or contractions at that time.
Speaker A:So I want you guys to feel encouraged and I really hope that this was more educational for you.
Speaker A:And I also pray that for any of you that are in that marathon right now where you're waiting to give birth and you can feel things are coming and you're actually in that pre labor phase that of course your baby can come any day, which is such a huge blessing.
Speaker A:But please take this time for the family size that you have now and really enjoy.
Speaker A:If you have two kids right now, three kids, no kids, enjoy what you have right in this moment and rest and make it a joyful time.
Speaker A:Because obviously, as we know, when baby comes, it's not a stressful time, but it is a huge shift change in your everyday life.
Speaker A:And enjoying that little season right before is such a sweet blessing.
Speaker A:And it's a sweet marathon.
Speaker A:It shouldn't be stressful.
Speaker A:It shouldn't be about measuring every contraction.
Speaker A:That and being stressed on heart rate all the time.
Speaker A:It just should be fun and relaxing as much as it can be.
Speaker A:And the group around you should be supporting that.
Speaker A:And if they don't, don't allow those people in.
Speaker A:So with that, of course, Jeremiah now just got Penelope settled after I'm done with this episode.
Speaker A:What did you do, honey?
Speaker A:To Settle her.
Speaker A:You just put her down.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker B:Cuddled her.
Speaker A:You cuddled her and she.
Speaker A:But you were cuddling her that whole time?
Speaker A:All right, well, sometimes she wore herself, poor thing.
Speaker A:Well, we love you guys and we're super thankful to you for all of your prayers during our pregnancy and our labor.
Speaker A:If you're following me on Instagram or Facebook, obviously you've seen some sort of pictures of her.
Speaker A:We also offered for some people, if they wanted to see her, we could either direct message them or text them photos because we're not allowing our child to be on social media in that way.
Speaker A:Because Jeremiah works for Meta and.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:No, I'm just saying Jeremiah works for Meta and he knows that there are creepy weirdos on the Internet that do things.
Speaker A:Jeremiah looked at me all nervous.
Speaker A:He's just seen, like, the worst parts of the Internet, you know, because he has to monitor those things.
Speaker A:So in order to protect our baby, we are making sure that she's not exposed.
Speaker A:And if you guys want to, you can also listen to our podcast episode about that and about data and how people can steal your data and images and photos and how that can be really dangerous.
Speaker A:So look into that as well.
Speaker A:I love you guys.
Speaker A:And I'm gonna go check on my baby.
Speaker A:I hear her cooing right now.
Speaker A:And make sure that she.
Speaker A:She's okay.
Speaker A:And making sure Jeremiah's okay because that was really frustrating half hour for him.
Speaker A:And until then, and until next week in our birth story.
Speaker A:As always, keep casting seeds.
Speaker A:We hope you enjoyed learning how to.
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