Four or more uterine contractions in an hour — entire uterus is tight, hard, «balled up» to the touch; may or may not feel painful (attachmentparenting.org)
Someone does not need for their baby to die for them to be ranging from a bit to incredibly traumatized by a birth experience... and not necessarily due to expectations she holds but because of trauma from A. nearly dying, like a friend of mine that an ER doctor yanked her entire uterus out of her body (yes, her uterus) and she was rushed to OR and bled to death but was brought back and spent a month in hospital. (lactationmatters.org)
True labor contractions start at the top of the uterus and radiates to the entire uterus and low back and into the pelvis. (thepregnancyzone.com)