Needs some insight!

[Oriole]

So, my dear sister is @ 41 weeks, expecting twins.

You can imagine, we are all just waiting - any minute now.

She is super patient, and not stressed out at all (I'm amazed, btw), they just went for a check up - and she was hooked her up to a machine, and apparently, she is contracting, and is at 3 cm!
Cool beans, eh?

Anyway, the kicker is, she is not feeling those contractions. At all.
They even offered for her to stay at the hospital, but she declined (she is wary of the interventions to begin if they don't see progress soon enough). She said they really were pushing for the stay, saying it will be soon, but she'd rather for the labor to start full force at home, and they live only 10 minutes away anyway.

So, my question is:

*how common is it to be contracting at 3 cm, without having any idea of what's going on?
*Is it possible to have this drag out for another few days?
*What was your labor like at 3 cm?

I'm impatient, but as long as the babies are doing well (which according to the nurses and the doctor, the babies are doing very well), how long can this go on until active labor?

- Happy-aunt-to-be

[MegBoz]

Originally Posted by Oriole

*how common is it to be contracting at 3 cm, without having any idea of what's going on?
*Is it possible to have this drag out for another few days?
*What was your labor like at 3 cm?

Yea! Excellent!
First off, congrats to her on making it this far! I'm also glad to hear that she is wary of the hospital!! it's hard enough for any mama to avoid unnecessary, dangerous intervention, but I understand that most HCPs & hospitals are particularly averse to vaginal delivery of twins.

Personally, I went to 41W4D (singleton, though) & didn't feel ANY ctrx!! Hospital policy, I had to go for an NST + AFI at 41W 0D. With the belt on as I sat there, I DID feel a ctrx! But just barely. I mean, it was the slightest sensation! I'm almost sure I wouldn't have noticed the feeling if it werent' for the fact that I was hooked up, waiting for DS to move, & DH & I were watching the monitors.

I didn't have a vaginal exam until 41W4D when I decided to have my membranes stripped. I was 3cm then, and basically hadn't been having ANY ctrx! The stripping started ctrx 2 hours later, and DS was born another 6 hours after that.

Who knows how long I could have been at 3 cm? I could have been there since 38W for all I know! Labor follows different patterns for anyone. So your sis is dilated & not contracting, whereas other ladies contract without dilating ("Prodormal labor"). I wouldn't worry about it. Mama is fine, babies are fine. Indeed birth is "imminent" - as someone else once posted here, "But of course birth is imminent! She's pregnant!"

[DeChRi]

I was at 3cm at 37 weeks. I went in for a test when baby wasnt moving at 38 weeks....she says, do you feel those contx? They are really regular! Um, no?

I stayed 3cm with period of intermitant regualr contrx until full labor at 39w5d.

Good luck to your sis! 41w with twins is rockin!