Contractions stalling.....

[guyshahar]

Hi there

My wife's waters broke yesterday morning.

She started having contractions in the afternoon, but they stopped late in the night.

She started again this afternoon - and have been stronger, but they seem to be starting to happen farther apart - around 20-30 minutes, while it was 10 minutes earlier.

She is moving around, getting in all the right positions. She is not overly worried about labour (though the pain is starting to get to her now), but still progress seems to be starting, and then going backwards.

We are worried that labour will last forever. She is already exhausted and miserable and out of energy.

Does anyone have any advice that might help us move this forward?

Has she seen a midwife? May be a good idea just to check baby is happy and see how far she is dilated? If she is already shattered and only a little dilated they may suggest pethidine so she can get some sleep. Don't know what birth plan is and you may be against this, but it's worth bearing in mind that she'll get more and more tired and this could lead to intervention: forceps/ventouse etc which is far less preferable to a bit of relaxation now. It's not uncommon for labour to stop and start a bit at the beginning, but call hospital/midwife if you are in the least bit concerned. Let us know how you get on x

i agree with twosofar.

i would call the hospital or midwife just for advice and reassurance.

she might need a little help in the right direction maybe a little something to keep her going if she's exhausted.

giving her lots of reassurance and being there will help her mentally.

hope all goes well for you. let us know how you get on and what she has.

she needs to be seen and monitored and it is likely induction will be offered.

there is an increased risk of infection and the NICE guidelines recommedn induction within 24 hours of rupture if labour not commenced

at the least ,some monitoring to ensure all is well

if she is in pain and in early labour she can
be offered pain relief and certainly if she is being induced then she will be offered pain relief

have you spoken to a MW?

Hi again

Yes - spent yesterday at the hospital, and they decided they would induce on Saturday morning if not started by then. They said that NICE guidelines were 72 hours - and they usually do it 24-48 hours, but were happy with Saturday if we wanted to give it a chance to come naturally.

So far, it's not happening - lots of contractions, but irregular - sometimes strong, sometimes not, sometimes often, sometimes long gap. We're going to try to get some rest now.... Let's see what happens.

good luck

So??