[Kerriemoe]

Since 16 weeks, I've been having bouts of frequent contrax, like every 10 minutes or even closer together. My midwife says not to worry unless they hurt, even if they're that close together. She said to drink more and then do something different: if I've been active, sit down with my feet up. If I've been resting, get up and move around. Which is why I'm up and wandering the house at 4:30 a.m.!

:

So I'm doing that and it doesn't necessarily make them go away. I think they just decide to go away on their own. It's just so frustrating and scary. I want to know if there's anything going on down there (cervical thinning, etc) but of course I don't want invasive exams or anything either.

Ugh. I don't even have a history of preterm labor, DS was 41 weeks, but I've had a feeling ever since I got PG that this baby's coming early; I don't know where this feeling comes from. And all the contrax don't help!

Anyone else going through this?

And here's a hint: if you are experiencing this, whatever you do, do NOT Google "25 weeks pregnant" and "Braxton-Hicks contractions." BAD IDEA.

 

[Peony]

Yep. I'm 28 weeks, and get them very frequently, there are periods where they are one right after anothe. It's annoying, and uncomfortable, especially when I take a walk because they make me pee even more then I already have to. I know I am effacing and probably dilating as well, I lost my mucous plug at 25 weeks.

: I walked around dilated for months with dd and she was born at 38 weeks, I never felt my BH then but must of had plently of them.

I'm not having any vaginal checks this pg but am not concerned about pre-term labor or anything, it's just what my body does.

 

[Kerriemoe]

Thanks, Amy! That makes me feel better.

Doesn't help that we're leaving for vacation today so I'm trying to take it easy, drink a lot, and pack for the week at the same time!

I'll be back on Sat so if I don't update before then there's not necessarily anything wrong.

Thanks!

 

[altmomma]

this is #4 for me, and this is the first one I have had really strong BH so early. For the last few weeks I get them now daily. Sometimes they are as frequent as every 5 minutes, sometimes its every 10-15 minutes. Mine also have actually become some what painful, all of these things my midwife said are actually quite normal with having had 3 babies prior.

The changing your position, drinking water, even taking a warm bath.. should help. Sometimes just really distracting yourself from them helps, I've found.

I was really worried but she told me unless they get progressively worse, from one hour to the next, or are very regular that it should be ok. But to come in at any time if I am worried.

 

[poetesss]

I had one bout of the really frequent ones, like every 5 mins (or less) for a few hours... midwife thought it was a UTI since I was also peeing every 2 min. My bladder does tend to act up post sex so I think that one particularly, um, overactive session

ended up overstimulating my bladder and uterus big time. I'm a little nervous to go back to DTD now though...

 

[Lousli]

Amy, (and others too

)I just want to mention this, since I think it is important to be aware of. I know that invasive exams are usually not useful during pregnancy, and that you can walk around dilated and effaced for a long time without giving birth, but I do suggest that you keep a close eye on things if you lose your plug along with other signs of preterm labor. It can regenerate and mean nothing. But it can also be a sign that you might go into labor. That was the only sign my closest friend had, and her water broke two weeks later and she had a 34 week baby. I have two preemies, and I just have become sort of hyper concerned about possible sings of PTL. So having had an irritable uterus with lots of contractions, I know that it can mean nothing. But to be on the safe side, you might want to discuss with your provider the signs of PTL and what to do if you think you are having any.

 

[Mrs_Hos]

I'm having more this pg too...not sure if it is due to baby #2 or if it is due to the Red Rasberry Leaf tea!

 

[daniedb]

I had constant BH cxns with Henry from about 20 weeks on. My practice erred on the side of caution, so I would have to go in to be monitored quite frequently. They would give me shots of Terbutaline, which is albuterol and relaxes the smooth muscles, so the cxns would stop. I never dilated or effaced, so the more research I did, the more I became aware that there was no need for the drug. Since I've been through labor now, and know the difference btwn BH and labor cxns, I have had very little anxiety with this pregnancy...I've had days where I've been very active and have up to 6-10 BH in an hour. I just put up my feet, drink a lot of water and go to sleep early. The next day, I'm all better! I finally self-diagnosed with an irritable uterus.

I don't want to underreact, or enourage you to either, but as is true most of the time, if it's labor (or something to be concerned about), you'll know! There's always that possibility that it could be worrisome, but if they stay spaced apart in regular intervals, and you have no other symptoms, I would venture to say that perhaps you just could cut back on your activities and not worry too much! I know how it feels, though, and it's always better to err on the side of caution, unless you have a moral or ethical objection to the treatment. As I said, I would refuse the Terb this time around, but I did what I could with the knowledge that I had at the time. I'm not sorry I had the internal checks done, beacuse that relieved my worry, but this time, I will not be so quick to have any kind of medical intervention unless I'm truly in PTL, which just isn't going to happen, LOL!

 

[lexbeach]

I've been having a ton of BH with this pregnancy. From about 19 weeks they've gone through times of picking up to every 5 minutes. They are definitely more uncomfortable than I remember them being with the last pregnancy.

I'm not worried about it at all. With my last pregnancy (twins), I was put on anti-contrax drugs at 29 weeks, and they stopped working at 31-32 weeks. I had BH contrax. every five minutes for the rest of my pregnancy (soooo annoying!!!), and never dilated or went into actual real labor (my twins were born via scheduled c-section (breech) at 38 weeks). I think this is just what my body does. The ob says I have an "irritable uterus," and my midwives say this is just the way my body does pregnancy.

It can't hurt to drink more water!

Lex

 

[USAmma]

I have an irritible uterus and had this with both pregnancies. With pg#1 I was just fine all the way through other than being sick and tired of cx keeping me from sleeping. With pg#2 I had preterm labor and started dilating and lost my plug a few times. That was kinda scary. I took meds to lessen the cx. It didn't make them go away, but it made them not be so strong to kick into real labor again. They were about every 5 minutes and about 30-60 seconds long with both pregnancies.

Both babies were born full time: #1 at 39 weeks and #2 at 38 weeks with some help from me to get labor started (was emotionally and physically exhausted and ready to have her)

I would just keep an eye on the intensity of the cx and watch for any pain or tingling in your vagina area or any "boogers" of muscous plug of any color (brown, pink, yellow). Those were the syptoms I got that it was more than just bh cx and I went to to the ER right away.

 

[Mom2Ellis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kerriemoe I want to know if there's anything going on down there (cervical thinning, etc) but of course I don't want invasive exams or anything either.

If you continue to have these contractions, you could always have an u/s done to check the length of your cervix. Totally not invasive (in my opinion) and you could get some good babe pix in the process!

 

[LionTigerBear]

Are you nursing? It could be due to that. I am still nursing my little two-year-old a few times a day, I am now 7 months (snooping here from the October club ) and I have been having hard pressure surges (contractions) for a while now. They can be quite intense and very close together, but they always go away. I am going to start taking the Rainbow Lite calcium/magnesium supplement to help with that and my RLS, you might try that and see if it helps some.

Personally I really wouldn't worry about it. If you are really in labor there's a different "energy" to it. At least I think so.

 

[LionTigerBear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrs_Hos I'm having more this pg too...not sure if it is due to baby #2 or if it is due to the Red Rasberry Leaf tea!

RRL would not cause lots of B-Hs, it would calm them down. That was my other suggestion to help ease the contractions-- drink some RRL tea. RRL tea helps regulate the uterus, so helps stop labor if it's not your time or aids labor if it is. I haven't been drinking my RRL tea for the last few months because of the heat but I was thinking of making some iced RRL tea-- yummy! Going to go do that now . . .

 

[hopeful1]

I'm 25 weeks along and I get bh at least twice a day now. Nothing as frequent as yours but it's pretty normal. One thing to keep in mind is excessive bh contractions can also be caused by a irritable uterus.... sometimes caused by bacterial infections. If you don't have an infection of any sort then I wouldn't worry about it. They're just bothersome.

 

[Kerriemoe]

Thank you for all the words of wisdom! They do seem to have calmed down; perhaps it was the wine I had with a few dinners while we were gone, perhaps it was just being on vacation.

No, I'm not nursing anymore. I was hesitant to try RRL tea because I thought it might make things worse, but if it should help, I'll certainly give it a shot! Last time I was induced, so I actually don't really know what "natural" labor feels like. I think that's why I'm worried, because I'm afraid I won't be able to tell the difference. Nothing is going to feel like the kind of pains I had last time after all the pitocin, cytotec, cervadil, and everything else that was done.

:

As for my cervix, I may be having a u/s this week; Friday I began having some major pelvic pain which appears to be Symphisis Pubis Disfunction so I'm off to the main pregnancy board to look for info or start a thread. If it's not one thing, it's another.

:

 

[ColoradoKat]

I would talk to your care giver about taking a mag/cal suppliment. Easy, no real side effects (except a little looser stools), over the counter, and it really works. I currently take 1000 mg of cal with 400-600 mg of magnesium. Good luck!