Help please - friend in early labour, struggling

[TheMshipIsBack]

My friend is 40 weeks and has been in early labour for a few days. She's not sleeping and is really struggling. She's still only contracting every 7-8 minutes, so she's probably got hours until the labour ward/MLU will admit her. What can I do to help her? Her DH and MIL are there (she loves her MIL, no issues there) to help in person, but this is their first baby and MIL's first grandchild, and they're indecisive sort of people iykwim. I'm her only friend who's already had a baby, but it was 3 years ago and I had a fast hard sudden labour, nothing like what she's going through!

She's on her ball, says it's the only position she can tolerate. I suggested keeping up fluids and small snacks (or powerade if she couldn't keep food down), and she's been in and out of the bath. What else might help?

Oh yes and baby is still moving plenty, no worries there, she's lost all her mucus plug, but no sign of waters breaking.

Your poor friend, I can sympathise. Had exactly the same, 3 days and nights of early labour and no sleep, at home. Then I went in to the hospital to get checked and begged them to help! They broke my waters and my labour immediately went up a gear and I progressed by myself, until finally 12 hours later I had my baby! Desperately hoping my labour will be shorter with number 2, due in 9 weeks. Good luck to your friend.

Has she spoken to her midwife? When labouring with my second my mw said she'd give me pethedin so I could get some sleep (after a day and a half of early labour). Except when she examined me I was 7cm dilated so it was all academic.

Oh, I just saw when this was posted. (Stupid spam bumped it into the Active category.) Hope your friend is all done and back home with the baby now!