Understanding Contractions in Pregnancy: 28 Weeks & Beyond

Question
I have been having contractions for quite a while and am in the begining of my 28th week.  I was not worried about them at first because they were just tightning of the stomach.  Now they are getting painful once in a while when I have them.  I went to the dr and they put me on a stress test and I am having them every 6-7 minutes.  I went in last Monday and the Nurse practicionor said I was not dialated all the way through she said.  She said I was all posterier so to rest at home. (she never explained that to me)  The next day they were more painful so she put me on the stress test and again 6-7 minutes between and I was dialated to 1 all the way through.  She sent me to the hospital to be monitored.  They said I was dialated to 1 and about 2 postierelly (again not sure what that means) I spent about 5 hours there and was having them every 6-7 minutes until they gave me a shot of Tributelean (not sure how to spell it) They also gave me an IV along with IV antibiotics saying my white count was a little high and they thought I might have an infection.  The contractions were not as intense and went to every 10-11 minutes.  They sent me home with an antibiotic.  I went to the dr on Thursday, my actual doctor cause he was out on Monday and Tuesday and he said I was not dialated and to only keep track of my painful contractions and not just the ones tightening.  The nurse also said my blood pressure was elevated but did not say by how much.  I told him I was having about 2 painful ones an hour and still the tightning every 6-7 minutes.  He said call him if I get more then 5 painful ones in an hour.  He said I was not dialated.  I asked if it could go back down and he said yes and it depends on who does the examining because dialated to one means dialated to a fingertip.  Anyway he sent me back to work and I am still having pretty painful contractions.  I feel like I am over reacting but I feel like he is being really conservative.  Am I overeacting?  I would have thought that he would have given me a prescription for the Tributelean but he did not.  He said since I was not dialating I did not need it but I did dialate.  I am really scared and I am uncomfortable calling him because I am beginning to feel like I am whining to him.  This is my second pregnancy and the first one was like a dream book pregnancy.  Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hello Jean- your anxiety is making all of this feel much worse than it is. Once you have had a baby, your cervix will always be about 1 cm dilated and your dr. is right not to give you the drug- it can have serious side effects. Your uterus has been contracting every few minutes since you were only a few weeks along- this is normal- it is supposed to happen. You need to get yourself to some GOOD prenatal classes- Bradley classes- AND find a midwife to take care of you- you will be much more comfortable asking her questions and calling her anytime. Hope that helps- Cheri.