How to identify contraction?

For me, my whole pregnancy I didn’t feel any menses-like cramps at all. But the day before I gave birth I felt mild menses cramps in the morning. Then I started feeling a totally different kind of pain in the upper stomach to the abdomen. I wasn’t sure it was contractions but since I downloaded the Contractions App, I timed whenever it came. My intervals ranged between 1hr to 10mins until evening. So I knew that had to be contractions already. Never felt it before. Every item it came, I had to pause whatever I was doing, be it walking, sleeping, turning, talking and cramp up my stomach to tahan the pain. Noon time I saw some pinkish blobs of discharge (like mucus) and I knew it was my mucus plug. Towards night time the contractions became stronger. I didn’t know if I had to go hospital or tahan through the night. So my father advised me to call KKH and ask the nurse. After I told the nurse of my contractions timing and how far apart (I was already between 5-10mins interval), the nurse told me I can admit myself. By right I was supposed to be induced the next morning, but she told me I can come in already. It was 9pm. When the doc did a cervix check, I was 3cm dilated. Baby pooped too. I developed fever and baby was in distress. 11pm I felt water burst out of me on the bed I was surprised and looked at my husband and told him “I think my water bag just broke. 😳” It was an uncontrollable first feeling, just came out like running tap water. As I wanted to go for natural, I had to wait until I was fully dilated and that took me until almost 10am the next day. That’s almost 12hrs of labour, not including the morning I first started feeling contractions. At 10cm dilation, I was asked to “push” out my baby for a few times however she was too high up that I couldn’t feel the urge to push out anything. I did try but nothing came out of course. Oh, I took epidural and when I was asked to push, they had to switch off the epidural so I felt all sorts of pain including the worst ever contractions pain that I will never forget in my life. After all the pain and pushing, in the end I was wheeled in for emergency c-sect cause too long already baby in me after water bag broke at 11pm. Even when I was in the OT, after they switched the epidural back on, and started cutting me, I could feel immense pain at my right abdomen cause it was hyper sensitive so eventually I was put on full GA, and slept throughout. Didn’t get skin-on-skin with my newborn. Post-delivery I developed pre-eclampsia and had to stay in the hospital for a week. My bill size was $11+k and baby was $2+k. Lucky for me there was Govt grant and balance of a few thousand dollars was covered by my insurance, so no need to fork out any cash. Instead I was given $900 daily hospital stay and $1+k pre-natal reimbursement cheque instead. Oh, my emergency c-sect was a risky procedure cause both me and baby were not in good condition. Both of our heart rates were dropping and nurses told my husband that he could lose one of us. I didn’t know all these until he told me the next day. So there, my birth story.. hahaha not to scare you but there are many mothers I know who birth their babies out smoothly. So good luck and breathe, Breathe, BREATHE! 💪🏻💪🏻

Well for me, it felt like very horrible menstrual cramps. Before my labour contractions started, I had the cramps for 1-2 nights before but it went away after half hr , one hr when I walked. I also timed it when it stated and stopped with an app and it was very regular and getting more painful. My water didn’t break and I didn’t lose my mucus plug before I felt the contractions. But it’s different for everyone. My sisters felt like back pain at the start.

It felt like menstrual cramps for me, but it comes and goes.. and more painful. I downloaded the contractions app and began timing the frequency of it. I had slight bleeding that morning and again at night before the contractions came. I called the hospital first and they advised to come down. I was already 4-5cm dilated when I arrived.