# Day 234: Painful or regular

> Thirty-three weeks and three days. Most tightenings now are practice. Today you put the three words that mean a call on the fridge.

- Series: Your eighth month of pregnancy, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-8), day 234 of 280, 33 weeks + 3 days
- Your baby this week: about the size of a pineapple; around 43.7 cm from head to heel
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-8/day-234
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 234: Painful or regular." Last reviewed October 22, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-8/day-234

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Thirty-three weeks and three days. If your bump has started going hard for a few seconds and then letting go, you're not imagining it. Today is about telling practice from the real thing, and writing the difference down where everyone can see it.

## Your baby

Around now your baby is around 43.7cm long from head to heel, about the size of a pineapple ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-33/)). Their brain and nervous system are now fully developed ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-33/)). If you've noticed a heavy feeling low in your pelvis, the NHS says that can be a sign your baby is head down ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-33/)).

## Your body

Braxton Hicks contractions may tighten your bump for 20 to 30 seconds, and they shouldn't hurt ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-33/)). They're usually short and irregular, and they don't cause bleeding, fluid leaking, or less movement from your baby ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000508.htm)). They also tend to fade when you change what you're doing: get up, sit down, walk around ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/labor-and-birth)).

The line the NHS draws is simple. If contractions are painful or regular, contact your midwife or hospital ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-33/)). MedlinePlus adds a number: contact your provider right away for more than 5 contractions in an hour ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000486.htm)). At 33 weeks that matters, because labor before 37 weeks is preterm, and early treatment is the best way to prevent a preterm delivery ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000486.htm)).

## Try today

### The contraction call card

- **Time:** 5 minutes

1. On a card, in big letters, write: "Painful, or regular, or more than five in an hour: call." Those are the NHS's and MedlinePlus's lines in one sentence ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-33/); [MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000486.htm)).
2. Underneath, write the number you'd call: your midwife, your provider's after-hours line, or the hospital.
3. Pin it to the fridge, or wherever you both look every day.
4. Next time your bump tightens, check the clock. One that comes alone and fades is practice. Note the time if another follows.

**Make it work:** A notes app with timestamps does the counting for you. Tap once at the start of each tightening and the gaps add themselves up.

## Watch for

- **Normal:** a tightening of 20 to 30 seconds that doesn't hurt ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-33/)). **Call your provider** right away for more than 5 contractions an hour, or contractions that are regular and painful ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000486.htm)).
- **Normal:** practice contractions with no other change. **Call your provider** right away for leaking fluid or vaginal bleeding beyond light spotting ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000508.htm)); the NHS says to seek advice for any bleeding this week ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-33/)).
- **Normal:** your baby's usual pattern of busy and quiet spells. **Call your provider** right away for decreased movement ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000508.htm)).

## For you

Plenty of people sit on a worry because calling feels like making a fuss. MedlinePlus doesn't see it that way: "Also make contact for any other reason if you are unsure what to do" ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000508.htm)). A call that turns out to be practice contractions is the system working.

If you're the partner: read the card too. When tightenings come in the evening, you're often the one with the free hand and the clock.

## Sources

- NHS. "Week 33." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-33/
- MedlinePlus. "Am I in labor?" National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000508.htm
- Office on Women's Health. "Labor and birth." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/labor-and-birth
- MedlinePlus. "Preterm labor." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000486.htm