When you've spent so many months anticipating giving birth, the first sign of contractions can be exciting and confusing. However, not all contractions mean you're going into labor. Braxton Hicks contractions (named after the doctor who discovered them), occur during the tail end of your pregnancy and can sometimes be confused for labor contractions. According to the Mayo Clinic, this contraction is brought on by your uterus tightening and relaxing and often stop if you walk, rest, or change your position. Real labor contractions will continue no matter how long you take that water break. Braxton Hicks contractions are also irregular. With labor contractions, they should get progressively stronger and closer together. Here, eight women with very different Braxton Hicks experiences describe what it felt like for them:

1."This is my first pregnancy, so I don't exactly know what it feels like to be in labor yet, but I did experience Braxton Hicks [contractions] around seven months. It feels like a very bad cramp taking over the entire lower abdomen. It's so powerful it's hard to talk for a few seconds but then it goes away. I am a fitness instructor and in the middle of teaching class I started experiencing them and just had to pause for a moment and breathe until they passed."—Minna, 30

2."Braxton Hicks contractions have felt different to me in each of my three pregnancies — from the third trimester getting-ready-for-the-real-thing 'practice' contractions of my first pregnancy, to the nine-months-of-actually-painful contractions of my third pregnancy. Those last ones are what I remember the best, and they were the most powerful. They'd start slowly, not even a contraction, really, but a feeling like blood was rushing from all of my extremities directly to my center and culminating in full-bellied tightening that would take my breath away. These contractions sometimes forced me to sit silently and unmoving for the few minutes they lasted. They would happen throughout the whole course of my pregnancy, and I made sure to mention them to my doctor every visit, just in case having them meant something was wrong."—Melanie, 34

3."I was never able to tell the difference between a Braxton Hicks contraction and my baby kicking. I would feel movement all the time and it was only when I was at my midwife appointment a few days before birth that she told me I was having [a Braxton Hicks contraction] because the surface of my belly was hardening [Editor's note: it's common for your stomach to feel tight during Braxton Hicks contraction]. To me it felt like a kick. Thankfully it wasn't painful."—Lisa, 32

4."I remember weeks before my actual delivery date with my son, I felt heavy pressure and cramping. I joked to my hubby wistfully; 'It's tiiiime!' and we naively phoned our midwife and smiled to each other that it was happening. It had to be. Until my midwife checked my cervix to see I was only three centimeters [dilated]. She almost chuckled when she saw my face drop. 'It's not time yet, love. You will know the difference because when you're having real contractions you won't be able to talk, much less move and organize your pillows to have an Instagram-worthy delivery photo.' Braxton Hicks is akin to a painful period, whereas [a real labor contraction] is all consuming."—Stephanie, 32

5."I had Braxton Hicks contractions a few times through out my pregnancy with my son, mostly around 26 weeks. Whenever a Braxton-Hicks contraction came, it was not only the physical sensation but also the curiosity about if this was 'go time,' which was a mix of panic and pain. The best way to describe Braxton Hicks contractions are as strong spasms like a sharp cramp across your abdomen, almost akin to a charley horse. Mine were always very quick and usually just one off. I went on to have a completely unmedicated labor in a birthing tub, so in hindsight Braxton Hicks can only be described as a mild discomfort in comparison. The biggest difference is that Braxton Hicks contractions come in random intervals, but real contractions will start and keep coming every five, ten, or thirty minutes depending on where you are in your labor."—Falasha, 28

6."When I was around seven months pregnant, I remember walking up the stairs at work and feeling a very distinct tightening and cramping in my belly. Real contractions were much more intense and regular. Walking up the stairs often triggered them but I also swam a lot while I was pregnant and I'd get them at the pool too. As far as telling the difference, Braxton Hicks contractions were far more uncomfortable than when my baby kicked. Those movements were usually located in a specific area (I'd feel a jab in one side of my belly or a kick in another area) whereas the Braxton Hicks contractions were more of an all over feeling in my abdomen."—Gayle, 35

7. "My Braxton Hicks contractions were usually localized to one small area of my uterus and consisted of a pulling and tightening sensation and the area would be hard to the touch. They were never accompanied by pain (unlike labor contractions!) and would quickly go away once I walked around and drank a glass of water. My labor contractions would roll through my entire uterus and would not go away regardless of how much water I drank or movement I engaged in, and felt like I had incredibly strong period cramps and also needed to have a bowel movement."—Bailey, 29

8. "I experienced Braxton Hicks as early as the middle of my third trimester. To me they felt like my stomach got super tight and were not painful but more so uncomfortable. It felt like light cramping, similar to what you may experience after a quick run. My stomach felt as though it was being stretched to capacity even beyond what you already feel being pregnant."—Kim, 31

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Carina Hsieh
Sex & Relationships Editor

Carina Hsieh lives in NYC with her French Bulldog Bao Bao — follow her on Instagram and Twitter • Candace Bushnell once called her the Samantha Jones of Tinder • She enjoys hanging out in the candle aisle of TJ Maxx and getting lost in Amazon spirals.