Irritable uterus - help!

[turtletum]

I'm 30 weeks pregnant with my second. For the last 2 and half weeks I've had regular tightening. Some days it's just tightening, on and off for an hour or two, but other days it goes on for several hours, up to 7 or 8! The tightening get stronger the longer the bout goes on, and on some occasions they're strong enough I can't talk through them. They are short duration and irregular, so I don't feel like labour is imminent.

I've seen my community midwife, who did urine and bloods to eliminate infection as a cause. All negative. She suggested ringing the hospital.

I've today been into hospital. They put me on a trace and I was having faint contractions every 2-3 minutes of short duration. If I'd not been lying quietly, I'd not have even noticed them. They've done more infection testing, all negative. They did the hormone swab to see if labour likely in the next 2 weeks, also negative.

All sounds good but I'm not sure how to cope with another 10 weeks of braxton hicks/irritable uterus. They occur at random times each day, but when they are strong, I don't feel safe to drive. It also makes my job more difficult, as I'm a teacher.

Sorry for the essay. Anyone else been through this and can offer advice? I also have a toddler to look after, so reducing hours at work won't free up much time to rest.

I had very similar when pregnant with my dd, I had many false alarm trips to the hospital towards the end but she ended up arriving at 39+5... they say you know you're in labour as it's different to braxton hicks but I honestly couldn't tell the difference in early labour! I only definitely knew when the pain really ramped up and they became more frequent, I went in and was told I was 3cm dilated.

I had DS 21 years ago, but from 30 weeks I was in this midwife monitoring unit every week as I was having regular contractions. They had to keep me in overnight every week. Nothing progressed, and they put it down to a "spastic uterus", which I'd never heard of.

I definitely had this in all of my pregnancies. It would often start when I was walking and I would have to catch my breath. Sometimes it would happen in bed. There were many times I would time them and it would seem they were strong and regular so I would think it was the start of labour. They could go on for a few hours before settling down. I had this most days from around 30ish weeks in all four pregnancies. In fact, the start of real labour felt exactly the same.

I think keeping hydrated and resting when it starts helps quite a bit. But my labours were quick and intense. The time I was induced my contractions were incredibly strong after only one pessary, and the midwives told me I had uterine hyperstimulation, so it seems that my uterus is just prone to contracting!

I gave birth 14wks ago ,i had the same for 3wks but i was also 3cm dilated never got induced until 37wks.i was in so much pain in & out of hospital.
My advice is rest as much as u can but if it doesnt feel right like it the pain gets stronger then phone the hospital best to get checked over.