Labour???

[MarathonMama]

Hi ladies, I'm currently 38 weeks pregnant and yesterday and today have been getting sharp pains down below. They're not like contractions (this is DC2 for me), they don't build like a contraction and don't come regularly, they're more like very strong cramps and are very painful.

Anyone else had this? Could it be labour? With DC1 I had gentle period pains building into contractions over many hours. These pains are much shorter (5-10 secs if that) and further apart (sometimes one every 30 mins, sometimes nothing for half a day) but are agony. Sometimes I think they relate to the baby moving as she seems to be awake when I have them. I feel them in my lower abdomen, really low at the front.

Anyone else having this?

Hmmm I was like you with both labours period pain like contractions building to very purposeful feeling contractions.

I did have these pains which I called "shocks" it's hard to describe but the were more like pain on the pubic bone like short sharp pains im making no sense at all here!!

On MN they're affectionately referred to as crotch zingers. Sharp, shock like, zingy pain. I think the general consensus is that it's the baby pressing on a nerve. I certainly got it more when the babies were awake and headbutting the nerves down there.

That said, mention it to your midwife just incase it's something like a UTI. Otherwise, sharp, shooty, irregular pains are common at this late stage.

at crotch zingers describes what I had better than "shocks" was all I could come up with!