QuestionHi- I'm 36 weeks pregnant today with my third child (have had 5 miscarriages since my last born child). My other labors were exactly the same. Felt contractions, went to the hospital, they were close together and didn't hurt- dialated to about a 6 or a 7... still without pain, had an epidural and delivered a few hours later.
THIS pregnancy, though is throwing me for a loop. I have been having very strong braxton hicks contractions since about 30 weeks. They have gotten even stronger yet, and are anywhere between 10-4 minutes apart. I have gone to the hospital twice after they were consistantly 4 minutes apart for more than 3 hours. Each time I was sent home- because there was no cervical change. Actually- the last time I went in was last night and they said I was 60% effaced, but not dialated. They detected the contractions every 4 minutes, and couldn't really give me an answer as to when to tell real labor from "this labor feeling".
I am very concerned, as this is my 3rd birth, and I live 30 minutes from the hospital that I will be waiting at home thinking it is false labor and have it really be real. I feel like my body is crying wolf, and I will stop believing it at some point soon!
Any suggestions, recomendations or ideas for me to do to get labor going and end this insanity???
Thanks for your help-
AnswerIt is very normal, in women who have multiple children, to have this type of "prodromal" labor pattern, where you have days or weeks of moderate, irregular contractions. It can indeed be very difficult to tell when it's "the real thing." One of the most important things to look for is the emotional signpost for active labor. When you reach active labor, your labor should require 100% of your concentration. It's okay if you say you're not in pain. Many women have painless births. But it will still reach a point where it requires your undivided attention, where you are no longer able to simply go about any other activities. You should be uninterested in getting on the computer, chatting on the phone, even reading a book or smiling for a picture. You most likely should be unable to sleep, since these contractions should wake you up (prodromal labor contractions usually peter out when you go to sleep).
Discuss these types of signposts ahead of time with your partner, because you may be unable to recognize them in yourself when it happens. Your partner should be able to recognize when you are in active labor and make the preparations to get you to the hospital.
As for a way to get this to settle into active labor more quickly, my best advice is to relax. Often, with mothers of multiple children, just the day-to-day stress of caring for the house and older children can prevent mom from relaxing enough to go into labor. In the back of your mind, you may think that things will fall apart without you, that you just can't be taken away even for a day. I've seen great results from spending a night in a hotel. Intentionally setting up that atmosphere of no demands, no constraints, no responsibilities, often is all that is needed to kickstart labor into a more active pattern.
Good luck, and congratulations on your third child!
