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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes, usually. Braxton Hicks need no treatment; a doctor can explain them and tell you when tightenings need your maternity unit.
- What they are: practice tightenings of the womb that come and go. They do not open the cervix, and they do not mean labour has started.
- When: most often noticed in the second and third trimesters, and most common towards the end of pregnancy.
- How they feel: a tightening across the bump, which may go hard for a minute or two: irregular and uncomfortable, but not usually painful; labour contractions, by contrast, come regularly and get longer, stronger and closer together, often every 5 minutes or less.
- Emergency: call your maternity unit straight away for regular contractions before 37 weeks, waters breaking, bleeding or fewer movements; call 112 if the baby is coming.
Do not book a video appointment if you are under 37 weeks with regular tightenings or period-type pains, your waters have broken, you are bleeding, your baby is moving less than usual, or contractions are getting stronger and closer together: call your maternity unit straight away. Call 112 if you feel a strong urge to push.
Can an online doctor help with Braxton Hicks contractions?
Yes, usually. Braxton Hicks are normal and need no treatment, so what matters is telling them apart from labour, and above all from labour before 37 weeks. A doctor by video can go through what you feel, how often and for how long, and how many weeks pregnant you are, explain what eases the tightenings, and tell you plainly when they need your maternity unit. Regular contractions before 37 weeks, waters breaking, bleeding or fewer movements need your maternity unit straight away.
How an online consultation helps with Braxton Hicks contractions
- Is this labour?: How Braxton Hicks differ from real contractions, measured against what you feel.
- What eases them: Rest, a change of position, a drink of water or a warm bath.
- Your baby's movements: Why fewer movements always need a check straight away.
- When to call: The exact signs that mean your maternity unit, at any hour.
What the doctor checks in an online consultation for Braxton Hicks
The doctor first rules out the signs of labour, then looks at the pattern of the tightenings. The doctor asks about:
- Warning signs: waters breaking, bleeding, fewer movements, or pain that does not ease.
- Your stage: how many weeks pregnant you are, and your due date.
- The tightenings: how long each one lasts, how often they come, and whether they are getting stronger or closer together.
- What eases them: rest, a change of position, a drink or a warm bath.
- Other symptoms: backache, period-type pains, a leak of fluid, or pain when peeing.
- Your history: a previous premature birth or an early waters break.
Before the call, time a few tightenings: how long each lasts, and the minutes from the start of one to the start of the next.
What are Braxton Hicks contractions?
Braxton Hicks contractions are tightenings of the womb that come and go during pregnancy. They are sometimes called practice contractions or false labour pains, and they do not open the cervix or mean labour has started.
Experts think they tone the muscles of the womb to prepare for labour, though the exact cause is not well understood. Not everyone notices them.
When do Braxton Hicks start?
If you notice them, it is most likely in the second trimester (13 to 28 weeks) or the third trimester (29 to 40 weeks). They are most common towards the end of pregnancy, and near your due date they can feel stronger or come more often.
What do Braxton Hicks feel like?
A tightening across your bump that comes and goes, or a feeling like mild period cramps. Your bump may feel hard for a minute or two. They may be uncomfortable, but they should not be painful, and they do not build up.
How long do Braxton Hicks last?
They are short and irregular. They do not last long, do not come often, and do not get longer, stronger or closer together over time.
Are Braxton Hicks painful?
They should not be. Contractions that hurt and come regularly, or period-type pains with backache before 37 weeks, can be labour and need a call to your maternity unit.
How can I tell Braxton Hicks from labour?
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Braxton Hicks | Labour contractions | |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | Weak; uncomfortable rather than painful | Get stronger and more painful |
| Pattern | Irregular | Regular, and closer together over time |
| Length | Short; they do not get longer | Get longer over time |
| Other signs | None | A show, waters breaking, backache, or an urge to go to the toilet |
| Rest or a change of position | Often eases them | They keep coming and building |
Do Braxton Hicks mean labour is near?
Not on their own. They can come and go for weeks, and near your due date they can seem stronger or more frequent, which is why they are mistaken for labour. Regular contractions every 5 minutes or more often, a show, your waters breaking or backache point to labour.
What triggers Braxton Hicks, and what eases them?
Common triggers are:
- being very active
- a full bladder
- sex
- not drinking enough
What may ease them:
- changing position
- lying down after being very active, or walking if you have been sitting for a long time
- relaxing with a warm bath or a nap
- drinking water
Braxton Hicks or premature labour?
Premature labour is labour before 37 weeks, and it affects about 8 in 100 babies. Its signs are regular contractions or tightenings, period-type pains, a gush or trickle of fluid from the vagina, and unusual backache.
If you are under 37 weeks and have any of these, call your maternity unit; do not wait to see whether they are Braxton Hicks. In hospital you may be examined and monitored, with tests for infection. Medicines can sometimes slow labour, steroid injections help the baby's lungs, and magnesium sulphate may be offered to protect the baby's brain.
When to call your maternity unit
Call for advice if you think you are in labour, if you have regular contractions every 5 minutes or more often, or if you are unsure or worried. Call straight away, even at night, if:
- your waters break
- you have vaginal bleeding
- your baby is moving less than usual
- you are under 37 weeks and think you may be in labour
- a contraction lasts longer than 2 minutes, or you have 6 or more contractions in 10 minutes
Do not wait until the next day if your baby's movements slow down or change: call straight away, even in the middle of the night. A home heartbeat monitor is not a reliable way to check.
What might the doctor recommend for tightenings in pregnancy?
What happens next depends on the pattern of the tightenings and how many weeks pregnant you are. This is the framework the doctors use:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| What you have | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| A strong urge to push, or the baby is coming | Emergency help | No | Call 112 now |
| Waters breaking, bleeding or fewer movements | Checks at the maternity unit | No | Maternity unit straight away |
| Regular tightenings or period-type pains before 37 weeks | Checking for premature labour | No | Maternity unit straight away |
| Irregular, painless tightenings that ease with rest | Explaining Braxton Hicks and what eases them | Yes | If they become regular or painful |
| Tightenings with pain when peeing | Checking for a urine infection | Yes, to assess | A urine test, and the maternity unit if contractions are regular |
Unsure whether your tightenings are normal? A doctor can go through the pattern with you in one consultation.
See available times →Special situations
A previous premature birth
If you had a birth before 34 weeks, a miscarriage from 16 weeks or an early waters break, tell your midwife: treatment to prevent early labour may be offered, such as a hormone pessary or a stitch in the cervix.
Pain when peeing
A urine infection can cause tummy pain in pregnancy. See bladder problems in pregnancy.
A sharp pain in the side of the bump
Brief, sharp pain low down on one side when you move is often round ligament pain, not a contraction.
When Braxton Hicks are managed online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: irregular, painless tightenings, telling them apart from labour, what eases them, and when to call.
In-person care: regular or painful contractions, any sign of labour before 37 weeks, waters breaking, bleeding, and fewer movements.
When to get in-person care
Call 112 now for:
- a strong urge to push, or the feeling that the baby is coming
- heavy bleeding, or severe pain that does not ease
- feeling faint or collapsing
Contact your maternity unit straight away, at any hour, for:
- your waters breaking, as a gush or a trickle
- any vaginal bleeding
- your baby moving less than usual, or a change in the pattern
- regular tightenings, period-type pains or backache before 37 weeks
- a contraction lasting longer than 2 minutes, or 6 or more in 10 minutes
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: daily 7am–11pm CET. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, and the exact price is shown before you pay.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about the tightenings: say how many weeks pregnant you are, how long each one lasts and how often they come.
- Leave with a plan: whether it fits Braxton Hicks, what eases them, and the signs that mean your maternity unit. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
No sign-up needed
Tightenings in pregnancy can have more than one cause. Tick every symptom you have to see each page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call. If you have an emergency sign listed on this page, call 112 instead.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Round Ligament Pain can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about Braxton Hicks contractions
What are Braxton Hicks contractions?
Tightenings of the womb that come and go in pregnancy, sometimes called practice contractions. They do not open the cervix or mean labour has started.
What do Braxton Hicks feel like?
Braxton Hicks feel like a tightening across the bump, or mild period-like cramps, with the bump going hard for a minute or two and then relaxing; you may see the shape of the bump change. They are uncomfortable rather than painful, come at irregular times, often after activity or in the evening, and ease when you change position, rest or drink water, which labour contractions do not.
When do Braxton Hicks start?
Braxton Hicks can start as early as the second trimester, from about 16 weeks, though many women first notice them in the third trimester, and they become more frequent and more noticeable towards the end of pregnancy as the womb prepares for labour. Not everyone notices them, and feeling them early or not at all says nothing about how the birth will go.
How long do Braxton Hicks last?
Each Braxton Hicks tightening lasts from about 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and a spell of them usually passes within an hour, especially once you rest, change position or drink water. They are irregular and do not get longer, stronger or closer together over time; tightenings that keep coming at regular intervals and build in strength are more likely to be labour.
Are Braxton Hicks painful?
Braxton Hicks should not be painful: they feel like a tightening or mild cramp that is uncomfortable but bearable, and you can usually talk and move through them. Regular, painful contractions, period-type pains with backache, or tightenings that take your breath away, especially before 37 weeks, can be labour and need a call to your maternity unit.
How can I tell Braxton Hicks from labour?
Braxton Hicks are irregular, weak and short, often ease with rest, a change of position or a drink of water, and do not build. Labour contractions come at regular intervals, get stronger, longer and closer together, carry on whatever you do, and are often felt in the back as well as the front, sometimes with a show, waters breaking or pressure low down. If you are unsure, time them for an hour and call your maternity unit.
Do Braxton Hicks mean labour is near?
Not on their own. They can come and go for weeks, and seem stronger near your due date. Regular contractions, a show or waters breaking point to labour.
Are Braxton Hicks the same as early labour?
No. Braxton Hicks are irregular practice tightenings that do not open the cervix, while early labour contractions, however mild, come at regular intervals, gradually get stronger and closer together, and begin to open the cervix, often with a show of mucus or the waters breaking. The pattern over an hour tells them apart better than any single tightening, and your maternity unit can check the cervix if the picture is unclear.
What triggers Braxton Hicks?
Being very active or on your feet for a long time, a full bladder, sex, dehydration, and someone touching the bump are common triggers of Braxton Hicks; they are also more noticeable in the evening and when you are tired. Knowing your triggers helps: a glass of water, emptying your bladder and a rest often settle them within an hour.
What helps Braxton Hicks?
Changing position, resting after activity or walking about after sitting, a warm bath, a nap, emptying your bladder and drinking a large glass of water all help Braxton Hicks settle, and slow breathing through each tightening makes them easier to bear. They need no medicine; if paracetamol seems necessary for the pain, or the tightenings carry on regardless, treat that as a reason to call your maternity unit.
When should I worry about Braxton Hicks?
Call your maternity unit if tightenings become regular, come every 10 minutes or less, or get painful before 37 weeks; if your waters break or you have a show; if you bleed; if your baby moves less than usual; or if the pain is constant rather than coming and going. Braxton Hicks that settle with rest and water need no call, but a midwife would always rather hear from you than not.
Can an online doctor help with Braxton Hicks?
Yes. A doctor can go through the pattern of your tightenings, how far along you are and what you are feeling, explain whether it fits Braxton Hicks, suggest what eases them, and tell you plainly when a call to your maternity unit is needed. Regular contractions, bleeding, waters breaking or fewer movements need your maternity unit directly, not a video consultation.
- Braxton Hicks contractions, Tommy's, reviewed 16 November 2023.
- Signs that labour has begun, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 9 November 2023.
- Premature labour and birth, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 10 January 2024.
- Your baby's movements, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 8 July 2024.
- Stomach pain in pregnancy, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 18 November 2024.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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