False labour

[minesacheeseandpicklesandwich]

Hello, can anyone help/give advice/make me feel better?

Have have false labour pains for the last two nights (v. little sleep ) and am wondering if I should expect this for much longer or if it is going to move on to the real thing soon. It's not ordinary BH as it's REALLY painful and lasting 80secs to 2 minutes (have TENS machine working on me right now) but the contractions are very irregular.

Oh, and am 38+6 today. Just hoping I don't have to go through this for another week or more!!

[rainbowdays]

Sorry to say but it can go on for a while, mine were a weeks of false labour, with my ds' I had irritable uterus that meant that I got proper contractions start up from 33 weeks, so I had 6 weeks of labour pains irregularly (the tens machine became my best friend during this time!).

Some tips that might help: Make sure you are well hydrated, drink plenty as dehydration can cause contractions sometimes.
Rest whenever you can, daytime naps are important to make sure that you get enough sleep to cope.
trips to the hosptial for false alarms can be frustrating, so have nice things packed in a bag for while you are there, little treats for you to keep you sane!

And remember the more you have before hand the better your uterus is practiced, and gives you plenty of practice for breathing techniques and trying out different positions to relieve the pain.

I hope this helps.

[minesacheeseandpicklesandwich]

Thanks for the message, if not the content . Though the tip about being dehydrated is useful, thank-you. The idea about my uterus getting the practice in is a nice one, too. The MW said something similar yesterday, too, but I didn't really see it like that then (having only had half an hours sleep, in two parts ).

I know what you mean about the TENS machine becoming your best friend. I showered this morning before DP went to work so that he could 'hook me up' and boy, am I glad about that!!!

I know there's no point in calling the hospital or the MW whilst it's like this. Like you said, false alarm trips are frustrating. This is all frustrating and I just want it to stop or bloody well START PROPERLY!!!!

[rainbowdays]

Couch, dvd and box of chocolates is the only thing to do then..... hope it gets going properly or stops for you soon.

[HeinzSight]

I've just read this thread with interest. I'd never heard of an irritably uterus before. I think I'm suffering with this. They started on Friday, period type pains and my tummy hardens. Today I've been suffering since about 4pm

[Qally]

I had 3 days of it - nothing "false" about it! It was like having my toe stubbed every 5 to 20 minutes. Tried sex on midwife's orders, but no dice. My community mw checked on day 3, and the baby was very low but cervix tightly shut. 10 hours later, he arrived!

On the upside, I was only in labour 4 hours after the waters broke, and it wasn't ever that painful. I only needed gas and air, and that just for the last hour. They told me that the latent stage can prime and stretch out the cervix, and the baby get well into position, so the labour can be easier once it really gets going. I hope that's so for you as well.

Water really helped me. A very deep, hot bath.

[Qally]

Oh - and if you're planning on a waterbirth, ice really helped me! Helped keep me hydrated, and cool. And the crunching was, oddly, a nice distraction.

[barnowl]

I had that with DS2 at the same time as you I dilated to 2cm and eventually it stopped and then didn't restart until 40+8. I had an irritable uterus with no3 and found the most helpful thing was warm bubble baths and a hot waterbottle (not too hot though) also going out for a walk or round some baby clothes shops was agood distraction.