Its confusing because they say braxton hicks contractions come randomly nd are only in the front nd your stomach just gets really hard, I get those occasionally nd it just feels like he's in there doing a full body stretch, pushing his butt against my uterus nd my stomach gets really hard. But then, mainly after sex I get the menstrual cramping that starts from my back then goes to my front nd those will come 4mins apart. But my stomach won't get hard. I've went into l&d because of these before nd they said they were just mild nd not strong enough to be kept. Sooo I guess everything is braxton hicks until your in tears or can't talk through them, or your water breaks. Its really confusing nd frustrating for a ftm, because everyone describes them differently nd has different experiences :/
Mine dont feel like menstrual cramps it feels like a lot of pressure in my uterus and my tummy gets hard... sometimes they get uncomfortable now that im further along almost painful but not quite
Bh just are a way of preparing your body for the real ones, i think for everyone they feel different, but usually they feel like menstral cramps and arent usually painful.