7cm & no contractions....whats wrong with me??

[MeezyFwiLLiams]

I am currently 38 weeks pregnant(today) and i am 7 cm dilated...So far i haven't have any contractions. I went in for my regular check up at about 35 weeks and my doctor was amazed that i was so far dilated (6cm at this the time) with only minor pain. They sent me to triage where my contractions were monitored( which also I couldn't feel) and they eventually sent me home since i wasn't in labor.....Now its 3 weeks later no pain and still no baby!! I'm scared my baby is just going to fall out when it comes time.....I guess we'll see :)

[mandib50]

moved to Birth and Beyond.

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

An acquaintance of mine sat at 6 cms for weeks. Once labor finally got into an organized pattern for her (after a few hours of annoying contractions) she had her baby in like 30 minutes. I'd bet money you'll go fast.

[crazyangel06]

Sounds just like me when i was pregnant with my son i sat at 5cm for two weeks

[Comtessa]

Heck, d'you know how much pain and hard work it is for most of us to get to 7 cm???  That's fantastic for you that you're that far dilated and haven't had to deal with a single labor contraction yet! 

Of course, what that does mean is 3 things, IMO (no conclusive evidence to back up these claims, only anecdotal):

1, your labor is more likely to start with your water breaking (since it frequently breaks when you're around 7-8 cm),

2, once your water breaks you're likely to hit transition-level contractions immediately, which can be pretty overwhelming if you're not prepared for it,

and 3, that baby is likely to come FAST! 

All of those are OK as long as you're prepared for them.  I was pretty far dilated near the end of my pregnancy too, so I took to wearing Depends if I was going to be out and about somewhere just in case my water decided to break while I was shopping, or at the theatre, or somewhere else that it would be really embarassing.  They're a little goofy, I'll admit, but it was a small price to pay for peace of mind on that particular issue. 

You might want to have some emergency birth supplies on hand at your house or in your car, so that if the baby comes fast you don't have to be anxious or panic -- you'll have what you need!  Make sure your partner knows what to do to help.  And then, just relax and wait to meet your baby!!

Blessings for a beautiful birth!

p.s. One thing I would avoid is allowing your HCP to break your water to induce your labor.  A friend of mine agreed to let her OB break her water when she was at this point in her pregnancy, because he "wouldn't let her" leave the hospital while she was walking around at 6 cm.  She was thrown into intense and overwhelming labor immediately.  Amid the cascade of interventions that followed, she ended up with a (perhaps unnecessary, though who knows) C-section.  There's no reason to set yourself up for that, IMO, unless there's some other reason to induce. 

[2littlebirds]

Both of my labors were similar to this...made me feel like I cheated when I went drug free with number 2 lol! I was 4cm at my 37 week check up, and the day before my 38 week check up the contrax finally got intense enough that I thought I was in labor. I went to the hospital around 6pm and was at a 5. Walked around for an hour and made it to 6. Took until dawn to make it to 7cm, and by then things had stopped completely. I have no idea how long I would have stayed that way, because we chose to have my water broken since it was pretty much a blizzard out side and I didn't want to risk not being able to get back to the hospital. Once my water broke, it took an hour or 2 for things to kick in and once it did, it was like textbook contractions. Started at 5 min apart lasting thirty or so seconds, then 2-3 min apart, and then about 1-2 hours after the pain started they were one after another and I got the urge to push. Just stay close to home and keep your birth bag packed!