sex and preterm labor??

[Awaken]

It hasn't been a fun 24 hrs.

[Queen of Cups]

Okay, so its not totally ideal - but couldn't you and DH use condoms? That would keep those prostoglandins from coming in contact with your cervix...

[PicnicBear]

I'm sorry you have to worry about this -- no experience myself but a close friend told me that it was the orgasms that brought on cramping for her (I'm not sure if "cramping" is same as "contractions") but at first they thought it was just sex but then it turned out to be the orgasms. I would have no idea to call a midwife or not but I hope it settles down enough to put your mind at ease soon. Oh, and DO NOT feel guilty!

[gratefulbambina]

Me & my dh have had to use condoms are whole pregnancy due to the prostaglandins. During my first pregnancy I went into preterm labor at 32 weeks after sex & then my water broke after I came off of bedrest at 35 weeks after sex. This time we were told that we could only have sex w/a condom. I believe you become more sensative after 28 weeks so I would be very careful. Now that we are on moderate rest we were told we couldnt have sex at all at this point until after 36 weeks.

Its pretty funny too when dh had to explain to his brother why he was buying condoms when he knew I was pregnant :LOL

[MrsMoe]

I have uncomfortable contractions everytime I have an orgasim/sex. I was told it is normal. My contrax don't last that long though, only about 5 minutes. Orgasims can and do trigger Braxton Hicks. But painful Braxton Hicks or ones that last for as long as yours IMO would warrant a phone call - could be the sign of an infection which can lead to early labor. Sorry you have to go through this. Sounds miserable. :hug

[willemsmamma]

I've been getting strong contractions (very strong but not *painful*, but I still have to breathe through them) after having an orgasm for at least 2 maybe even 3 months. I've notice within the last 2 weeks that they have been followed by a period of a few hours of irregular contrx.
And I've been having contrx every time I change position (more intense than Braxton Hicks, but not painful) since the last time we had sex. This didn't happen so early last time.
I'm going to get my dh to check and adjust me because contrax this early on usually mean that my sacrum (base of the spine) is out of alignment (and this can happen easily during sex because of the relaxin in your system combined with the sometimes akward positions you may have to have sex in...). From a chiropractic standpoint, your spine is the base of the musculoskeletal system and the biomechanics of your spine and its ability to withstand shearing and torquing forces is greatly compromised during pregnancy because of the displacement of your center of gravity towards the front of your body (there is a whole lot of research into the biomechanics of the spine etc). And also the ligaments of the uterus attach to the base of your spine so if it's out of alignment it is going to cause torquing of the uterus thereby causing intrauterine constraint on the fetus... basically what you're calling an "irritable uterus." There is a technique that you can do to help prevent/stop preterm contrax and I could explain it to anyone who is interested. I had a patient who started having preterm contrax at 24 weeks and taught her dh this technique to do on her at home when she started having them and she was able to carry full term with no complications. Of course I would recommend you regularly see a chiro to get adjusted in addition to this technique for greatest benefit.
Just PM me if you want more info. :D

[Awaken]

First of all, THANKS SO MUCH everybody! I really appreciate your responses.
Gratefulbambina- LOL about having to explain why you needed the condoms, being pregnant and all :) That's pretty hilarious!

Willemsmama- Thanks for the info on chiropractic- of course I would love to know about the adjustment, that sounds really helpful. I have been going almost every week to get adjusted- however, she mainly does my neck and mid-back, and she does check my sacrum when I'm standing. I don't know if that will help with my uterus and pelvis though- will it? I was going mainly b/c of my sore and locked-up neck, not really for pregnancy reasons although I know it can benefit my pregnancy just to be in better alignment. My lower back, surprisingly has not bothered me much, if at all this preg.

[MrsMoe]

Oh condoms! Yuck! I would go for lambskin condoms. That latex is so harsh on tender skin with repeated use.