Signs of preterm labor - Page 3

[Bunnybee]

I agree Periwinkle. After having a 7 week 2 day stay in the NICU I'd much rather deal with side effects of a med and have a full term baby! I had read some things online about nifedipine and birth defects so I was a littel concerned. My doc actually decided to add labetalol first (maybe b/c I questioned nifedipine?) so we'll see how that does. Though the same doc said I have Reynaud's and the info for labetalol says that's contraindicated!

[jazzybaby9]

Originally Posted by Periwinkle

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea -- Conflicting Information:

If you have a history of preterm labor OR if you have an "irritable uterus" you should consider avoiding drinking RRL tea. I was specifically told my both my midwife and my labor doula in my second pregancy NOT to go near it because *some* women like me (i.e., with a history of preterm labor and an irritable uterus) don't handle it well, I guess because the LAST thing a uterus like this needs is a strengthening tonic! I've done a lot of research on line and found there is highly conflicting information out there about it... some studies or opinions show it's safe, others say it's absolutely not safe for women with previous miscarriages or preterm labor or uteruses that are "irritable". I for one was in no mood to be a scientific experiment, thus I steered clear of it.

This is true for me! I began drinking the tea at the beginning of the 3-tri and BAM within 2 days I was in the hospital with severe backache, menstrual-like cramping & regular contractions! I stopped drinking the tea and things have been fine since.

[Spark]

bumping because this is an AWESOME thread & there's some questions about PTL in the I'm Pregnant forum.

[CrunchyDoula]

Bump

[preemiemamarach]

I'm pregnant with #2 and have a 13 month old, former 33 weeker. Just wanted to say how happy I am to see this thread- I think there is a tendency, like OP mentioned, for people to interpret *all* contractions during pregnancy as 'natural'. They're not. I was taken seriously when I started having prodromal preterm labor symptoms at 23 weeks because I had a history of cervical cancer surgeries and enodmetriosis surgeries, so I have an irritable, scarred uterus AND a crappy cervix. I shortened very early, but never dilated (due to all the scar tissue in my cervix)- had to be manually dilated during labor (that was fun).

I would strongly encourage anyone experiencing BHC that don't respond to the normal interventions to get checked out. And don't listen to people who say 'babies born past 28 weeks don't have many problems', because they CAN. And even a few weeks in the NICU, then a baby who can't nurse, suck. Big time.

[lanielayne]

[lil_miss_understood]

Originally Posted by preemiemamarach

I would strongly encourage anyone experiencing BHC that don't respond to the normal interventions to get checked out.

Not being purposely dense, but what are the normal interventions? The things listed at the beginning of this thread?
I'm asking because my BHC seem to get earlier with each pregnancy (none that I noticed with ds1, 23/24 weeks with ds2, started around 18 weeks with this one) and more noticeable.

[MoonJelly]

I have a few questions about some of the above items:

-Wouldn't Propel be a better choice than Gatorade, as it is much lower in sugar? And none of the flavors have dyes. Plus, it tastes a lot better IMO.

-I don't have any philosophical objection to the vodka (or other distilled spirit) but my only question is, wouldn't you have be careful that it didn't dehydrate you at the same time? I think I have already been having issues with dehydration this pregnancy, so this is on my mind. My DD was pre-term with PROM. Which brings me to my next question...

-What is the difference between PROM and PPROM? In other words, what is the extra "P" for?

[friendlymamma]

Just wanted to say, what great info. I'm a mom of 2 preemies - 1 33 weeker and 1 36 weeker. Hope this one makes it to at least 38 weeks! I'm on the supplemental progesterone and so far it seems to be helping. I'm in my 33rd week and feeling good! There was a bit of info I didn't know about, so thanks for keeping this one going!

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

MoonJelly: The way I understand it, PROM is around 36 weeks or so, and PPROM is earlier than that. I know a woman through the internet who had PPROM with one of her twins at 13 weeks and is, amazingly, currently at 27 weeks.

[Periwinkle]

Originally Posted by MoonJelly

I have a few questions about some of the above items:

-Wouldn't Propel be a better choice than Gatorade, as it is much lower in sugar? And none of the flavors have dyes. Plus, it tastes a lot better IMO.

No! Propel is NOT the same thing as Gatorade. It does not have the same electrolytes and carbohydrates as Gatorade - in fact, it hardly has any - it is simply designed as a tasty water for people who like bottled water and it has some vitamin supplements thrown in. Plus, it has artificial sweeteners. It's like drinking Diet Coke with a multivitamin mixed in. In other words, not only is it NOT a "healthy" alternative to Gatorade, but it's totally missing the mark on replenishing electrolytes and sugars.

Originally Posted by MoonJelly

-I don't have any philosophical objection to the vodka (or other distilled spirit) but my only question is, wouldn't you have be careful that it didn't dehydrate you at the same time?

I think the idea is that if you have preterm labor, you're already drinking 12 glasses of water a day (plus Gatorade or homemade equivalent!), and if your preterm labor progressed to too many contractions/minute, you've already downed some extra water before lying down on your left side... and now you want your partner to pour you a glass of wine or shot of vodka to sip. This isn't meant as a daily regimine, lol, it's emergency response to buy you a little time and let things calm down a little without a hospital admission if at all possible. HTH!

[Periwinkle]

Originally Posted by JacquelineR

Not being purposely dense, but what are the normal interventions? The things listed at the beginning of this thread?
I'm asking because my BHC seem to get earlier with each pregnancy (none that I noticed with ds1, 23/24 weeks with ds2, started around 18 weeks with this one) and more noticeable.

There is nothing abnormal about BH contractions. BH contractions are normal and healthy, and they do often start earlier with each pregnancy. Here is the key: BH contractions are simply contractions that do not produce cervical change. But if your cervix is changing when you are contracting, that is NOT normal (especially as early as 20's weeks) and those are not BH contractions, that's preterm labor.

Also, I think that assuming you and/or your care provider cannot find any evidence of cervical change, it would also be concerning to me if I still had BH if:

1. I was already drinking plenty of water (>8 glasses/day)
2. I wasn't doing anything to tick off my uterus (could be anything... from too much sex lol to drinking RRL tea)
3. Drinking 2 glasses of water and lying down on my left side didn't make them go away (or seriously diminish) within a half-hour or so.

[MoonJelly]

Originally Posted by Periwinkle

No! Propel is NOT the same thing as Gatorade. It does not have the same electrolytes and carbohydrates as Gatorade - in fact, it hardly has any - it is simply designed as a tasty water for people who like bottled water and it has some vitamin supplements thrown in. Plus, it has artificial sweeteners. It's like drinking Diet Coke with a multivitamin mixed in. In other words, not only is it NOT a "healthy" alternative to Gatorade, but it's totally missing the mark on replenishing electrolytes and sugars.

Okay thanks. I did think it had regular sugar, just less of it. I don't recall seeing a fake sweetener listed on there but I will take a look next time.

Also, as you probably know, you can OD on too much water. It happened to someone I know. He was out in the Summer heat drinking lots of water and ended up drinking too much and got pretty sick from doing so. Anyway, just something for people to keep in mind, so as not to get too carried away trying to re-hydrate from water alone.

[boscopup]

Originally Posted by MoonJelly

Also, as you probably know, you can OD on too much water.

That's the reason for the Gatorade or equivalent. If you drink straight water and don't replenish your electrolytes and such, you can die of water toxicity. If you drink Gatorade along with all that water, you'll be fine.

[lil_miss_understood]

Originally Posted by Periwinkle

There is nothing abnormal about BH contractions. BH contractions are normal and healthy, and they do often start earlier with each pregnancy. Here is the key: BH contractions are simply contractions that do not produce cervical change. But if your cervix is changing when you are contracting, that is NOT normal (especially as early as 20's weeks) and those are not BH contractions, that's preterm labor.

Also, I think that assuming you and/or your care provider cannot find any evidence of cervical change, it would also be concerning to me if I still had BH if:

1. I was already drinking plenty of water (>8 glasses/day)
2. I wasn't doing anything to tick off my uterus (could be anything... from too much sex lol to drinking RRL tea)
3. Drinking 2 glasses of water and lying down on my left side didn't make them go away (or seriously diminish) within a half-hour or so.

Yeah, mine's easily attributed to not drinking enough and doing "too much" (normal household maintenance). My mw's are keeping a close eye on it/me so I won't worry too much. What had me worried to begin with was that my u/s tech noted that I had a BHC that "didn't stop for the entirety of the u/s", but that was before I was admitted for hydration too.

[Lousli]

Originally Posted by MoonJelly

-What is the difference between PROM and PPROM? In other words, what is the extra "P" for?

Premature rupture of membranes = membranes rupture before the onset of labor (hence prematurely)

Preterm premature rupture of membranes= membranes rupture before the onset of labor and before full term (prior to 37/38 weeks)

[AmberLynn]

I have a question thats been bugging me. And is kinda personal...
After DTD with my fantastically amazing husband, my entire tummy feels very tight, and obvious that my uterus is contracting.
We *ahem* still DTD alot, and it even happens if i'm just excited. It lasts for about 5-10 minutes after all is said and done. But I heard this puts me at risk for preterm labor? Am I not allowed to have orgasms because they cause contractions??

Kinda freaked out.

I'm only 13 weeks along!!!!!

[Periwinkle]

Originally Posted by MoonJelly

Also, as you probably know, you can OD on too much water. It happened to someone I know. He was out in the Summer heat drinking lots of water and ended up drinking too much and got pretty sick from doing so. Anyway, just something for people to keep in mind, so as not to get too carried away trying to re-hydrate from water alone.

This is why you need to replenish with Gatorade (or its equivalent). The reason people "OD" on too much water is that their electrolyte balance gets out of whack. This is also what can cause preterm labor, because people always tell you to drink a lot of water and you have people drinking 12, 16, even more glasses of water per day but not replenishing their electrolytes and sugars.

[Periwinkle]

Originally Posted by AmberLynn

I have a question thats been bugging me. And is kinda personal...
After DTD with my fantastically amazing husband, my entire tummy feels very tight, and obvious that my uterus is contracting.
We *ahem* still DTD alot, and it even happens if i'm just excited. It lasts for about 5-10 minutes after all is said and done. But I heard this puts me at risk for preterm labor? Am I not allowed to have orgasms because they cause contractions??

Kinda freaked out.

I'm only 13 weeks along!!!!!

Don't worry be happy. It's all good. That's what it feels like when you're pregnant. It's not BH even, and it's definitely not preterm labor.

Now that being said, I did have to stop DTD when on bedrest because it would send my uterus contracting for HOURS. But stopping after 5-10 minutes is actually BENEFICIAL for you, keeps your uterus toned and helps get ready eventually for labor.

[WeasleyMum]

Originally Posted by AmberLynn

I have a question thats been bugging me. And is kinda personal...
After DTD with my fantastically amazing husband, my entire tummy feels very tight, and obvious that my uterus is contracting.
We *ahem* still DTD alot, and it even happens if i'm just excited. It lasts for about 5-10 minutes after all is said and done. But I heard this puts me at risk for preterm labor? Am I not allowed to have orgasms because they cause contractions??

Kinda freaked out.

I'm only 13 weeks along!!!!!

I had that in my first trimester, too, and it totally freaked me out. I cut DH off for awhile, but that didn't help because I was getting orgasms in my sleep. : But it didn't seem to have any negative effects on the pregnancy or the baby, other than scaring me.

I've found this thread very informative, thank you!