Contracting every 3 minutes but false labour!

[atrcts]

Im 33 weeks pregnant and have nearly finished a course of antibiotics for bladder infection which can apparently irritate the uterus and cause contractions.

I've just been sent home from delivery suite where the monitor showed I was contracting regularly every 3-4 minutes. An internal examination (speculum) showed cervix to be oedematous with lots of 'normal' looking discharge but yet appearing to be closed.

So I've been sent home with codeine and told to call if I'm worried or if my waters break!

Has anyone else experienced this? I'm interested in what happened if so! I thought regular contractions 3-4 minutes meant you were in established labour but evidently not!

I have replied on your irritable uterus thread, as yes I have had this with two pregnancies. It is not fun, I got used to stopping and breathing through contractions long before ever giving birth. You may find that the bladder infection has caused the irritable uterus, or it may continue through to the end of the pregnancy. If it continues beyond the bladder infection, you might ask for steroids to mature the babies lungs, just as a precaution. Hope it all clears up for you.

Thanks willitbe - I started this thread before the other one and got a lot more I out from the second one so was glad to have tried again with a slightly different slant!

I appreciate what you're saying - I was a bit surprised that they didn't consider steroids 'just in case', and kind of regret not asking. But I've got an outpatient appointment this week so will ask about it then

Update for anyone reading this thread - I gave birth 2 weeks later, so maybe all those 'false alarms' weren't all that false after all!

Congratulations on the birth. I hope you got the steroids in time and that your baby is ok.

They gave steroids about 2 hours before the C Section and only because it was a CS - apparently as he was 35 weeks the increased respiratory complications risk with a CS called for it