True about Braxton Hicks contractions is the following EXCEPT

Ans. b. Painful (this would be the best correct ans...although in Williams it's given as painless/painful contractions) (Ref. Williams Obstetrics 22nd/Ch. 5, 18, 36).Braxton Hicks contractions are:# Irregular,# Nonrhythmical, and# Either painful or painless,* Can cause considerable confusion in the diagnosis of preterm labor.BRAXTON HICKS CONTRACTIONS# During the first 30 weeks, uterine activity is comparatively quiescent.# From the first trimester onward, the uterus undergoes irregular contractions (first time described by J. Braxton Hicks in 1872) that are normally painless.# In the second trimester, these contractions may be detected by bimanual examination.# Uterine activity increases gradually after 30 weeks, and it is noteworthy that these Braxton Hicks contractions also increase in intensity and frequency.# BH contractions:- appear unpredictably and sporadically,- are usually nonrhythmic, and- their intensity varies between approximately 5 and 25 mm Hg.# Until last month of gestation, Braxton Hicks contractions are infrequent, but they increase during the last lor 2 weeks.# At this time, the contractions may occur as often as every 10 to 20 min and may assume some degree of rhythmicity.# Late in pregnancy, these contractions may cause some discomfort and account for so-called false labor.# Further increases in uterine activity are typical of the last weeks of pregnancy, termed prelabor.# During this phase, the cervix ripens, presumably as a consequence of increasing uterine contractions.# Early differentiation between true and false labor is difficult before demonstrable cervical effacement and dilatation.# Uterine activity alone can be misleading because of Braxton Hicks contractions.# Not infrequently, women who deliver before term have uterine activity that is attributed to Braxton Hicks contractions, prompting an incorrect diagnosis of false labor.The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (1997) proposed the following criteria to document preterm labor: