Scared and need advice plz

[missnatalie]

Im 36w PG today and a little concerned. Since about 10pm lastnight ive been getting VERY painful pains in my tum. There not consistant in any way but very painful. They feel like tummy ache pains but alot worse. Was awake until 7am this morning with them . Today there not as bad. Probably getting them about 2-3 times per hour and lasting from 5-20 seconds. Do they sound like Braxton Hicks? My tummy does go hard when its happening (i think ) but if they are BH why are they so bloody painful?

I didn't have Braxton Hicks, but I have read that they can be very painful.

I hope someone comes along in a min xx

Thanks hun. My mum thinks that i maybe in slow labour but im not so sure. Never got this far before so havnt got a clue what to expect or how to tell the difference between BH and contractions x

could be BH, do you have any loss of fluid? a show? any bleeding? if you are in pain,and a bath and paracetomal are not helping, you should give your MW a call, especially if you are concerned....being dehydrated can give you stronger BH, and raspberry leaf tea can stimulate them too....if you feel you need to be checked out,then you should be.

resting on your left side,making sure you are hydrated can help.

BH are normal, especially towards the end of pregnancy, when your body is preparing for the big day

real contractions, i. e true labour ...the ctx will have a rhythm, last around a minute, get stronger as the time between them diminishes, you cannot sleep through them, you are restless, have pain in your back quite often , and they do not stop until the baby is born.

Have you had any other symptoms?

If it is early labour, make sure you eat and sleep as you could be in for the long haul. And don't worry to much about timing contractions at this stage, you'll drive yourself potty.

I am a little dehydrated. Think ill try the water. I havnt lost any fluid but last night when wiping there was the smallest amount of blood on the paper twice. About 1mm wide and 2-3mm long. Im going to give the drinking a go and if that doesnt help i might give MW a call.

I disagree with lulumama (sorry, just speaking from experience). You can get warm up ctx (what used to be called false labour) for weeks b4 the real thing really kicks off.
Best to ignore and carry on with life until they get to the point that you can't just ignore them any more ("toe-curling"). THAT's when you might just be progressing to the real thing. Drink a little wine or take paracetomol in the meantime.

I have a due-date buddy who has been having hours of ctx, on-off, for about 2 weeks now. She's well-fed up. It's her 2nd baby, so she knows they're pretty close to the real thing, but they don't quite consistently get stronger and longer over the hours, they just build up a bit and then fade away after a while. Driving her batty.

sorry, not sure which bit you are disagreeing with?

I couldnt sleep through mine last night and then when i did doze off they woke me straight back up. But there not consistant ata all. Can anyone describe what BH feel like for me plz x

Oh and i also took 2 paracetamols but they didnt do a damn thing!

IIRC BH stop when you move around.

braxton hicks are practice contractions, so they feel very much like the real thing.

BUT the difference is that real ctx will thin and open the cervix and BH won't.

all ctx at this stage help, whether you all them false labour, stop start labour, pre labour or braxton hicks..they all help the uterus get ready for birth, they help to get baby in a good postion, excercise the uterus and apart from being ucomfortable, they won;t do any harm

Missnatalie, a tiny bit of bleeding is ok, and a bloody show is normal, but lots of bright red blood is definitely not ok and you need to be seen immediately, should that happen.

Contact your midwife and have a chat. I had this with ds and had him 36hrs later. I also disagree with lulumama, my contractions were irregular all the way through and only ever lasted 40secs max even when it came to pushing.

Thanks NAB. Mine def dont stop when i move. Infact they hurt that much i cant move at all. Just curl up in a ball and wait for then to go. Another thing is that baby has been moving non stop since they started. Does this mean anything? x

fair enough, i did suggest missnatalie call her midwife especially if paracetomal not helping and she was concerned

sorry, didnt mean that to sound so rude lulumama

you weren;t rude at all !!

think i;ll just go now !! LOL!

good luck missnatalie !

lulumama - just called MW but theres no answer. Ans machine said to call labour ward. Would you call. I really dont want to look/sound stupid and to be honest the MW were quite horrible to me last time i went up. Is it normal to have the pains all over my tum and not just in one particular place?

libEL - i hope i dont have baby too soon or in the next 36hrs like yourself. Im so not ready.

I really hope that these are just VERY painful BHs and not the real thing. Im not ready, DP not ready and my mum is 90 miles away!

i would call, as pain that is not going away with paracetomal and is leaving you unable to sleep and curled up in a ball , is making you worried. hopefully you will speak to a MW who takes you seriously...

I agree Give them a call - how rude of them to be horrible to you.

Good luck, let us know what they say

Ok have just called the labour ward. I explained everything thats happening and told her that i am worried and scared that i might be in slow labour. The nasty bitch kind of laughed and said "wishful thinking, you've still got 4w left and as the pain isnt consistant your probably worrying over nothing" . What do i do now. Sh also said to call back if pain gets any worse and then i can go up and get checked. That was followed by "you will have a long wait though as we have alot of full term babies being born tonight". I hate my hospital . Just waiting for DP to come back now. Im going to ask him to call them.

Should i be worried that baby is moving around alot more than usual ? x

I would say that baby moving is a good thing.

If not already, get yourself ready and assume you will go into labour sometime soon. It is best to be prepared. If you have a birthing ball, get on it when you are having the tightenings and move yourself in a figure of 8 shape. All helps.

well, in all fairness, lack of consistency is often a clue to it not being true labour BUT BUT BUT there are ways of saying it, and it has not reassured you

have you had a bath> and are you due any more paracetomal?

agree with nab re birth ball and moving.. trying to move through the pains might be bette
r

try not to tense yourself, concentrate on keeping your mouth and jaw relaxed and don;t clench your fists.. being tense will make it feel a lot worse....

try to distract yourself, put on some music, read, dance, sway, eat, drink,don;t concentrate on the pain

if you feel you need to be seen, then that is your prerogative...try some coping techniques and see what happens? review yourself in an hour?

if anything major happens, i.e gush of fluid or bleeding or increased pain,then call them back

Thanks both. Am running a hot bath now. Lets see if that helps and then ill take some more paracetamol when i get out. DP bought me a birthing ball just last week so ill give the figure of 8 thing a go too.

The pains are all in my tum and none down below apart from the odd twinge. Does that sound right? x

How are you this morning, missnatalie?
There is no right and wrong with this stuff, it just goes the way it goes.