Contractions are when the muscles of your uterus tighten and relax to get ready for childbirth. These muscles help push your baby down the birth canal. Once you reach week 37 of your pregnancy, it ...

There's a big learning curve when it comes to pregnancy. For many expecting parents, just thinking about contractions can be nerve-wracking because they are associated with pain and the start of labor ...

Could that weird cramp in your belly be the start of labor—or is it just another bout of indigestion? Maybe it's the real deal, or maybe it's just Braxton Hicks. Can you even have contractions before ...

Here's what happens during each stage of labor – from how long each stage lasts to what you might feel. Labor happens in three stages — early labor and dilation, pushing and delivery, and finally, ...

When you’re pregnant and get contractions, it means the muscles of your uterus are tightening and releasing. The contractions help widen (dilate) your cervix to help your baby journey through the ...

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed new imaging technology that can produce 3D maps showing the magnitude and distribution of uterine contractions in ...

Braxton Hicks contractions are uterine contractions that start in early pregnancy. Most don't notice them until sometime in the second or third trimester – and some women never notice them at all.

Labor contractions are the physical way your uterus tightens to promote delivery of your baby. All body muscles tighten and shorten (contract) when they’re being used. And the uterus is one of the ...

Prodromal labor is sometimes called “false labor” or mistaken for Braxton-Hicks contractions. The contractions you experience are real, though they may last less than five minutes and stop for long ...