Normal for contractions to stop?

[BabyChez]

Has anyone ever had mild but painful contractions for hours for them to stop suddenly? I'm 38 weeks and have been having contractions for a while. They were pretty regular (every 13 minutes) to start off with (all night last night). This morning they have gone haywire and they seem to have no tailed off and stopped.

Has anyone experienced this before? They're definitely not Braxton Hicks and I've had some dark brown bleeding with them which midwife said is my mucus plug.

Is this the start of things? Or likely to go on for days... I know, how long is a piece of string! Some experiences would be nice to hear however :)

Bump..

Mine were regular but mild for about 11 hours, stopped for 2, then started up again. It took me about 21 hours to get to 2cm, 36 start to finish.

Mine were also never regular. Even at 6cm I had 3 minutes, 7 minutes, 5 minutes etc. Possibly worth mentioning!

Good luck!

I had this at 37w. 45sec contractions every 5 min for 12 hours. Lost my plug. They stopped in the morning and then I had nothing else for a week until my waters started leaking and they induced me.
I think it’s common for contractions to start at night when you’re most relaxed as it encourages oxytocin. Then when morning comes they tail off.

Probably not the answer you want but the good news is that I had a very quick and easy labour a week later!

How exciting!

Yes I had this. Mucus plug fell out and I went on to have contractions that waxed and waned in intensity over the course of five (!) days before the baby came. Twice they were coming every 3-5 mins and lasting 30 seconds or longer (and really hurt), and yet each time I was barely dilated.

I just kept walking around and trying different positions around the house to get comfortable and alleviate the pain. I'd download the contractions app too so you know what your contractions are doing if you want to call the hospital for advice.

Good luck!

Yes! Although the bad news is two weeks later, I'm still getting sporadic contractions and still no baby!