Anyone else had a start/ stop labour? Please share and help me feel a bit better...?

[sonearandyetsofar]

I am now 40+5 and booked for a sweep at the midwife tomorrow.
The other day (tues) I started getting contractions around 1pm, and these were about every 15 mins, by 6pm they were at 8mins. and getting more intense and uncomfortable. They went on until 4 in the morning when they were about 4mins apart, and then slowed and stopped.
I also had a bad backache the whole time.
Phoned hospital during the evening/night 3 times, and they wanted me to stay home till they were 3 mins apart.
DH phoned them again at 5 to say things had stopped, and they told him they thought it was a long latent phase, and things might start up again in the next couple of days.
Just wondering what happened to my 'labour' and if anyone else has been through this?
I am feeling very low and emotional, and like I failed. I know the baby will come soon, but not coping today.

I did with number 3.

My stop start contractions started at 35 weeks and I went to 40+3

Had contractions ALL day Sunday, tailed off as soon as I got home in the evening and went to bed feeling fine, woke up at 3:30am with another one, thought I'd time them but fell asleep until 4:30am when I felt another and it all carried on from there, DD was born at 11:33 Monday morning.

It's horrible but it will happen soon.

Thanks small ships, just feeling frustrated.
This baby is so long awaited and hard fought for.

Just off out, but will try to reply more later.
Keep your spirits up! THere is nothing wrong with you or your baby, most important things are to rest, relax, stay hydrated and eating.
Have periods of exercise (seeing friends, walking, fast circles on birth ball, any and all suggestions on the Spinning babies website) with naps.
Often after a slow to start/stop start labour things progress very quickly.
In some ways this eases you nice and slowly into labour and gives your mind and body time to get used to contractions.
Stay positive!
I know of many normal, natural births after days of stip start labour.
Selina x

Had a similar experience - over a week from first contractions to birth. I found I coped well with pain as had lots of time to get used to it!
Like you< i would have frequent ones but then would tail off and I'd sleep.
In the end it sped up, waters broke, and the first time I was examined I was 8cm so v happy.
The biggest problem with this kind of labour is the mental torture, and even more, the TIREDNESS. Each day I thought the baby would be here within 24 hrs or so, but I was hardly sleeping and nor was DP for a whole week - which meant that after the birth I was very very exhausted - felt like a bus had hit me. Also my DP had wasted a week of the 2 week paternity leave watching me suffer!
SO my advice would be to try to rest, and stay at home / go for little walks.
Good luck, hope it happens soon!

Even though it was DC3 I was only sure it was actually it around an hour before the baby appeared because I'd had runs of contractions all week, especially the day before.

If the hospital had told me to wait until the three minutes apart I would have had the baby at home unattended as this never happened, they were irregular until 10 mins before he was born (when my waters went).

I went to hospital when I was unable to talk through them as none of the contractions during the week had been like that - although I appeared to be in very early labour on arrival he was born within 2.5 hours.

I had a very similar experience to heliotrope, but not quite as long - a tuesday night to a friday. it was coz DD1 was laying on the right and was meandering over to the left before making her big exit. Please make sure you get some sleep. my saviour was a midwife who told me to get in hte bath to stop all contractions and get some rest. if I hadn't done that i don't think i would have had the stamina.

my DD2 was also a bit stop start, cramps on thursday, stop, cramps on saturday, stop, pop out very quickly on sunday. coz of the first time i was expecting this and didnt' get excited with the first twinges

good luck xxx

Could this be what's happening to me (38+4)? I have been having "bad period pains" that go from my boobs to my knees for several hours at a time for days now (kept me awake most of last night, preventing me from doing any housework today!). No show or anything. The first hour or so it happened I was excited but have given up now and just keep having baths and crying instead!
Didn't bother mentioning to MW as assumed it was just Braxton Hicks. I know it won't make any difference to when baby gets here but if I could call it "latent phase of labour" it'd cheer me up no end!

It was a midwife who told me it was latent phase SilkyBreeks so if it cheers you up, go for it!!

Thanks for the support so far, has made me feel a bit better. Going to sit on my ball for a bit, having had a little walk.

How did people cope without balls? So grateful for mine throughout this pregnancy.

I'm going to assume I'm in this latent phase then, it actually hurts too much to stand up now so seems fair enough!

Will be checking back to see if your baby has arrived...

When I called the hospital at 1am they said the same about the bath. They said that I should sit in bath for around 45 mins and then go to bed. If it didn't slow down enough to sleep then I was to go in.

The previous night a bath had slowed it enough to get some sleep but when it was it the bath only slowed it very slightly and even then only for around an hour.

sonearandyetsofar any sign of a baby yet?

My labour with DD did the same at 41weeks - down to 3-6 mins apart all night and then back to 25 mins apart during the day. That went on for 6 days. But for me the baby had not engaged properly and never did. She had a huge head and I think my pelvis is oddly shaped (so says the review after the birth). So my long latent phase was the baby trying to engage. Might be worth asking the midwife how your baby is lying / how far down etc.

I went for minimal intervention (been on NCT A?N course and everything - hoping for a water birth) but after 6 days I finally had a C-section and was told that (for me) the baby would not have been able to get out any other way.

I'm not trying to scare you - just be prepared for any possibility and remember a C-section or not 100% intervention-free birth is not a failure if you have a healthy baby at the end.

Oh and my super hint for those long days of contractions - sitting in the bath made the pain completely disappear (had to get out of the bath for the intense pain to come back immediately. So yes - get in the bath with a good book - and good luck!

Hello, thanks for the messages it all helps.
Off to midwife in a few mins for my sweep. Had lots of 'mucus' when going to loo yesterday and today (sorry if TMI!)so hope that is a good sign...
Also having irregular but quite strong BH's ttoday. Will let you know what happens.

good luck... for me it the only sign that it was real was that the contractions got too strong to talk through (in the couple of hours before he was born) - they never got regular at all.

Well, midwife couldn't reach my cervix, apparently it's at a 'funny angle' (I've always had issues with smears too)
so no real sweep for me.

It's looking unlikely baby will be here soon, but I am booked for next thursday to be induced. Not sure how I feel about that.

She said that i should try and stay as positive as possible, as that produces the 'right' hormones. So no more self pitying crying fits for me today!
Will update if anything changes.

Hey there
I had two weeks of this. On my due date (18th Nov) I thought my waters were leaking, went to the maternity assessment unit and I was contracting regularly on the trace - about every four minutes. They were going to keep me in but they subsided.

Turned out my little man was back to back which can cause stop-start labour. I was induced after my waters spontaneously broke at 40+12 and contractions STILL hadn't regularised within 24 hours.

In my latent labour phase, we went to the cinema, out for meals, I had my hair done and I baked. Lord, did I bake. Cakes upon cakes upon cakes, even after my water had gone. I also spent a lot of time sleeping though contractions often woke me up. I used a relaxation CD called 'Blissful Birth' I got off Audible for all of £8. Funny cockney man.

I was induced but it was a breeze. I have a 'funny cervix' too and the hardest part was the vaginal examinations: required a few people on one occasion! I was 3cm dilated when I got to the hospital from all the latent labour so didn't need the gel pessary and they used a slow drip. I started drip at 9am, contracting properly at 11.30 and managed psin-relief free until 2.30. Quickly went up a bit then: gas and air, then tens. Got epidural at about 4ish simply because a vag exam was due and although I was coping really, really well I knew I would lose my focus with the exam so decided on the drugs.

I did need an emergency forceps trial/check for cs in the end but it was all FINE. Would do it again tomorrow! I know it doesn't feel like it now but a stop-start labour (provided you get some rest) is quite good if you go over. It was GREAT to be dilated already. My induction wasn't the painful horrible experience I'd been told it would be: it was a blissful birth indeed.

Good luck!

Sorry, forgot to say I gave birth on 1st Dec.

Any babies yet? Mine is still happy where it is

I seem to be experiencing similar with DC3
Really intense runs of painful contractions for a few hours then easing off

EA me too - how are you doing?

had sweep yesterday - 2cms & having contractions requiring hip swinging every ten minutes or so....

then nada, nothing, all gone away

head is still quite high though & I suspect OP though noone has told me so

this could be a long haul

I had start stop contractions so regularly with ds2 that when labour actually started I ignored it until my sis pointed out that my contractions were over a minute long now and every 3 minutes so we should perhaps consider calling the mw?

Ds2 was born 3 hours later

mazzystartled - I'm doing okay thanks. I expect this one is also OP (my others were too) and that might be part of the problem

I might consider scrubbing the kitchen floor tomorrow to see if that helps!