CTG for exercise contractions
CTG (cardiotocography) is very well suited for recording the contractions of a pregnant woman and, in parallel, the heart action of the unborn child. It is therefore a very important diagnostic procedure in obstetrics. The CTG records all contractions, so it can also be used to detect exercise contractions.
The CTG provides various indications to differentiate between exercise contractions and “real” contractions that announce birth. Exercising contractions do not occur as regularly as pre-birth contractions. In addition, they last much shorter and are not accompanied by typical pain symptoms. Based on the combination of clinical symptoms of the pregnant woman and the CTG findings, exercise contractions can usually be easily identified.
Exercise contractions or abdominal pain – How do I differentiate between them?
Exercise contractions can be easily distinguished from abdominal pain by feeling on the abdomen from the outside during a contraction. During an exercise contraction, the entire abdomen feels as hard as a board as the uterus contracts to train for delivery. In addition, exercise contractions occur at variable intervals and, unlike abdominal pain, last a maximum of one minute. Exercise contractions are characteristically painless or even painless in the end.
Difference to lower labour pains
Exercise contractions can be differentiated by different aspects of down pains. Exercising contractions tend to occur irregularly, for example several times a day without a constant or increasingly shorter time interval. Plunging contractions, on the other hand, become more and more regular and show an increasingly shorter interval over time.
Initially, these contractions can be relieved by warmth or light movement. At the end of the pregnancy, however, they can finally turn into real contractions. The intensity of the contractions then also increases in contrast to the intensity of the exercise contractions, which usually remain about the same.
Exercising contractions are also not painful. If the pregnant woman is resting or moving slightly at the beginning of an exercise contraction, the exercise contraction disappears quickly. However, changes in position or movement do not affect pre-birth contractions.
The contractions continue to occur and are painful. As a result, the pregnant woman’s breathing also becomes more strained over time. This is not observed in exercise contractions.
Finally, due to their slight intensity, the exercise contractions do not affect the opening of the cervix or the length of the cervix. However, over time, labor pains lead to a shortening of the cervix and to an opening of the cervix, so that birth can be initiated and the baby can be born. Finally, this is also shown by a slight loss of blood and the release of the plug of mucus that seals the cervix for the duration of the pregnancy. Contractions that are accompanied by pain and bleeding should therefore be clarified, as they are probably not just exercise contractions.
