What do contractions feel like?
Motherly Motherly
  • Pregnancy
    • Getting Pregnant
      • Infertility
      • Surrogacy
      • Adoption
      • Miscarriage & Loss
      • Pre-Pregnancy Shopping Guides
    • Registry Guide
      • Feeding
      • Toys & Books
      • Diapering Essentials
      • Bedtime & Bathtime
      • Baby Clothing
      • Baby Gear
      • For Mama
      • Health & Safety
    • Pregnancy
      • First Trimester
      • Second Trimester
      • Third Trimester
      • Pregnancy Products
    • Baby Names
      • Baby Names By Month
      • Popular Baby Names
      • Unique Baby Names
    • Birth
      • C-Section
      • Labor & Delivery
      • Birth Stories
    • Postpartum
      • Fourth Trimester
      • Parental Leave
      • Postpartum Products
  • Parenting
    • Baby
      • Sleep Guides & Schedules
      • Feeding Guides & Schedules
      • Milestone Guides
      • Health
      • Learn & Play
      • Products
    • Toddler
      • Memorable Moments
      • Milestones
      • Sleep
      • Nutrition
      • Health
      • Learn & Play
      • Products
    • Child
      • Health
      • Milestones
      • Sleep
      • Nutrition
      • Learn & Play
      • Products
    • Teen
      • Tween
      • Issues
      • Nutrition
      • Health
      • Activities
  • Life
    • Beauty & Style
      • Style
      • Beauty
      • Beauty & Style Shopping Guides
    • Food
      • Meal Planning & Shopping
      • Nutrition
      • Entertaining
    • Motherly Stories
      • Personal Essays
    • Home
      • Home Decor
      • Home Shopping Guides
    • Career & Money
      • Work & Motherhood
      • Family Finances & Budgeting
      • Taxes
    • State of Motherhood
    • News
      • Viral & Trending
      • Celebrity News
    • Health & Wellness
      • Covid
      • Women’s Health
      • Children’s Health
      • It’s Science
      • Mental Health
      • Self Care
      • Fitness
      • Health & Wellness Shopping Guide
    • Travel
    • Entertainment
      • What To Read
      • What To Watch
    • Holidays
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
      • Rosh Hashanah
      • Christmas
      • Kwanzaa
      • Hanukkah
    • Relationships
      • Single Parenting
      • Blended Families
      • Community & Friendship
      • Marriage & Partnerships
      • Grandparents & Extended Families
  • Shop
    • Mother’s Day Gifts
    • Pregnancy
      • Stretch Mark Cream
      • Pregnancy Pillows
      • Maternity Pajamas
      • Maternity Workout Clothes
      • Compression Socks
      • All Pregnancy Products
    • Toddler Products
      • Pikler Triangles
      • Toddler Sleep Sacks
      • Toddler Scooters
      • Water Tables
      • Sippy Cups
      • All Toddler Products
    • Postpartum
      • Breastmilk Coolers
      • Postpartum Pajamas
      • Postpartum Underwear
      • Postpartum Shapewear
      • All Postpartum Products
    • Child Products
      • Kid Pajamas
      • Play Couches
      • Kids’ Backpacks
      • Kids’ Bikes
      • Kids’ Travel Gear
      • All Child Products
    • Baby Products
      • Baby Wraps
      • Baby Swaddles
      • Eco-Friendly Diapers
      • Baby Bathtubs
      • Splat Mats
      • All Baby Products
    • Beauty & Style Products
      • Pregnancy-safe Skincare
      • Diaper Bags
      • Maternity Jeans
      • Matching Family Swimwear
      • Mama Necklaces
      • All Beauty and Style Products
  • Podcasts
  • Join the list!
  • Please wait..
×
Clear

Home / Birth

What do contractions feel like?

By Motherly Updated Dec. 21, 2020

  • Rectangle
Categories:
Birth, Labor & Delivery, Pregnancy

Related articles

best women's sweatshirts
Beauty & Style Shopping Guides
The comfiest, chicest sweatshirts for fall (that aren’t your college hoodie)
Updated Oct. 15, 2025
News
This school’s “un-fundraiser” is giving parents a reason to breathe easier
Updated Oct. 15, 2025
News
What happens when a mom finally stops cleaning long enough to go for a run
Updated Oct. 15, 2025
Health & Wellness
Turns out running with your stroller might actually protect your body more than you think
Updated Oct. 15, 2025
News
Shonda Rhimes finally admits what every working mom knows
Updated Oct. 15, 2025

More articles like this

News
This mom’s take on ‘flexible’ jobs is hitting a nerve with working parents everywhere

Working parents, ever feel like your “flexible” job actually means 24/7 parenting? This viral TikTok perfectly captures the juggling act no one warned us about

Updated Oct. 15, 2025
News, Viral & Trending
Health & Wellness
California just drew a line in the Sand on AI and kids—here’s why it matters everywhere

California’s new AI law could change how every parent thinks about chatbots

Updated Oct. 15, 2025
Health & Wellness, Mental Health
Nara Smith
Celebrity News
Nara Smith welcomes her fourth baby—and reminds us why her version of motherhood feels like a fairy tale

For fans of Smith, this moment is less about breaking news and more about inhabiting a carefully curated world.

Updated Oct. 14, 2025
Celebrity News, Birth, News
Education department layoffs
News
What parents need to know about the Education Department layoffs—and how they could affect kids with disabilities

While the numbers might sound abstract, the impact is personal.

Updated Oct. 14, 2025
News, Parenting
toddler mealtime communication
Baby Learn & Play
The 5 baby signs every parent should teach at mealtime, according to a speech expert

Mealtime is secretly one of the best times to help your little one learn to communicate.

Updated Oct. 14, 2025
Baby Learn & Play, Toddler Learn & Play
baby shower food station ideas
Food
Turn your food into decor: Baby shower station ideas that work double duty

A well-styled mimosa bar or parfait station does the work of decor, entertainment, and food all in one setup.

Updated Oct. 14, 2025
Food
Mom Genius Gates
Safety
Mom Genius baby gates recalled after safety warning—what parents need to know

No injuries have been reported, but a new recall is urging parents to stop using certain Mom Genius retractable safety gates immediately.

Updated Oct. 10, 2025
Safety, Parenting
HART
Viral & Trending
‘Is that a baby?’ The split-second that changed one driver’s morning

Bus driver Barbara Baker spotted a toddler alone in the street, and her quick thinking turned a regular route into a real-life rescue.

Updated Oct. 10, 2025
Viral & Trending, News, Parenting, Safety

Featured Posts

newborn preterm birth
News
What if your gut bacteria could predict preterm birth? A new study suggests it’s possible

A groundbreaking new study suggests that the gut microbiome—the trillions of bacteria living in your intestines—could play a powerful role in predicting preterm birth.

Updated Sep. 15, 2025
News, Birth, Pregnancy
Saoirse Ronan
Celebrity News
Saoirse Ronan takes first stroll as a mom—and fans are celebrating

Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden have welcomed their first child, sharing a rare public moment with fans during a sweet London outing.

Updated Sep. 12, 2025
Celebrity News, Birth, News
Baby comes home
Birth Stories
They went in for a 38-week appointment… and came home with a baby

At 38 weeks pregnant, they expected a quick check-in with their doctor and then to head back home to keep preparing for their baby’s arrival.

Updated Aug. 27, 2025
Birth Stories, Baby, Birth, Parenting
Babies
News
The best states to have a baby in 2025 (and the 10 that need to do better)

For many parents, the financial and logistical realities of birth are prompting a bigger question: What does “baby-friendly” actually look like when you’re the one giving birth?

Updated Aug. 06, 2025
News, Birth, Parenting
ivf
Baby
A 30-year-old embryo just became a newborn—and his big sister is already a mom

This is a story where time folds in on itself: a child conceived in one century, born in another, sharing DNA with a sister who now tucks her own children into bed.

Updated Aug. 01, 2025
Baby, Birth, Parenting

Most Popular Posts in Birth

young-girl-looking-over-her-baby-sister - do second babies come earlier?
Birth
Do second babies come earlier? Here’s what you need to know about the second time around

The good news is that your second labor may be only half as long.

Updated Jan. 22, 2024
Birth, Women's Health
mums in 40s
Birth
A historic shift: More babies now born to women over 40 than to teens

According to a brand new report from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System, births among women in their 40s have more than tripled since 1990, while the teen birth rate has plummeted to a historic low.

Updated Apr. 03, 2025
Birth, Birth Stories, Getting Pregnant, Health & Wellness, Women's Health
hailey beiber
Postpartum
Hailey Bieber opens up about birth trauma, postpartum identity shifts, and finding herself again

“Being postpartum is the most sensitive time I’ve ever gone through in my life,” she said. “Learning a new version of myself is very difficult.”

Updated May. 22, 2025
Postpartum, Birth, Labor & Delivery
Girl or boy
Parenting
Your odds of having a boy or girl might not be 50/50—here’s what affects it 

For families raising all boys or all girls, this might offer a scientific explanation.

Updated Jul. 23, 2025
Parenting, Baby, Birth, Life
pregnant woman holding belly
Labor & Delivery
7 things to think about when you go past your due date

We are here to tell you that it really will be ok! Here are some thing to keep in mind during these final days of your pregnancy.

Updated Apr. 01, 2024
Labor & Delivery, Birth, Pregnancy
This Is Birth
This is Birth: Bekah Martinez’s serene & empowered waterbirth
Updated May. 03, 2023
This Is Birth, Birth, Birth Stories
mom hugging baby to chest - birth quotes
Pregnancy
You’ve got this, mama: 15 empowering quotes on giving birth

"When you change the way you view birth, the way you birth will change."

Updated Oct. 12, 2022
Pregnancy, Birth
Kylie Kelce
C-Section
Kylie Kelce shuts down harmful claim that C-sections aren’t “real” births

“They just had massive abdominal surgery to get out the human life that they just built.”

Updated Apr. 04, 2025
C-Section, Birth, Child

The Latest Posts

Teaching about periods
Parenting
Mom teaches son about periods—and the internet’s calling it a parenting masterclass

This mom turned laundry day into a powerful lesson on periods and empathy (and her son nailed it).

Updated Oct. 10, 2025
Parenting, News, Viral & Trending
Kylie and Ashley
Parenting
“Four feels like three!”: Ashley Graham and Kylie Kelce spark debate over the hardest child number

“I have found that four feels very similar to three.”

Updated Oct. 10, 2025
Parenting, Celebrity News, News, Viral & Trending
toddler girl asking to watch dad's workout videos
Parenting
Girl dad asks why his toddler watches his workouts—her answer has parents in stitches

A 3-year-old’s reason for watching her dad’s workout has every girl dad laughing—and slightly bracing for the future

Updated Oct. 10, 2025
Parenting, News, Viral & Trending
mom carrying her baby in a work meeting
Work & Motherhood
This mom brought her baby to a meeting—and reminded us what true workplace support look

A working mom nervously brought her baby to a meeting—but instead of judgment, she found laughter, care, and a glimpse of what family-first workplaces could be

Updated Oct. 10, 2025
Work & Motherhood, Career & Money, News, Parenting, Viral & Trending
mom wearing headphones while parenting
Parenting
Baby wouldn’t stop crying—and this mom found a way to stay present through the noise

Remember babies co-regulate, so if their parent is in an elevated state, they are likely to stay in that state longer as well.

Updated Oct. 10, 2025
Parenting, News, Viral & Trending
climate anxiety in kids
Children's Health
An education expert’s plan for parents navigating climate anxiety in kids (when you’re scared too)

If you're feeling that weird cocktail of guilt, fear, and "how do I even talk about this?"—welcome to the club.

Updated Oct. 09, 2025
Children's Health, Health & Wellness, Mental Health
Cardi B
Pregnancy
Cardi B opened up about prenatal depression—and she’s helping moms feel less alone

She admitted that thoughts of raising her baby alone and losing her partner’s companionship spiralled into sadness and depression.

Updated Oct. 10, 2025
Pregnancy, Celebrity News, News
Shoes that light up
Safety
A mom bought her daughter new shoes—then faced the reality of what safety means in America

“I had to break it to her that I’m so sorry, mama,” she says quietly in the video. “We can’t bring those to school.”

Updated Oct. 10, 2025
Safety, News, Parenting, Viral & Trending

We believe in creating a world in which all mothers are thriving

Connect

  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us

About Us

  • Our Story
  • Partner with Us
  • Press
  • Privacy & Security
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • About Our Ads
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • Glossary

© 2025 Motherly. All Rights Reserved.

×