Help please - 35 weeks FTM do I need to call MAU?

[Moonshine88]

Hi, looking for advice/handhold please.

Currently in a hotel (in my hometown, not far from my maternity hospital thankfully) with work and have had 2 episodes of loose bowels/diarrhoea this evening. Had dinner with work earlier so not sure if it was just a bit rich, whether it's a bug...or early sign of labour? Have heard about this possibly being a sign and as a FTM I have no clue what to expect!

Had Braxton hicks a lot today and baby was feeling super low with lots of pressure. Currently baby is doing HUGE movements, literally watching my tummy move like an alien 🫣 (not helping with the upset tummy feeling!). Don't feel unwell in myself, but just hope baby is ok.

Would you call MAU? Are big movements ok? Any advice much appreciated thank you, think I'm spiralling as I'm away from home and alone x

Always call if you are worried. Much better than not.

I agree. Call if you are worried for any reason.

Baby may just be turning in prep for getting head down. Large movements are not uncommon. If you are at all unsure then give your MAU a call and speak to them and see what they say.

the tummy thing could be an indication - but it might just be a dicky tummy. Braxton Hicks are tightenings but you can usually talk through them and don’t need to stop. They usually peter out after a while. If you start getting tightening that you can’t talk through then that might be contractions - start to time them. If they get progressively stronger and closer together then that could be an indication of labour starting.

if you get any indication of fluid then do give the MAU a call. Your waters don’t always go in a big gush - sometimes it can be like a steady slow leak. If that happens (big gush or slow leak) it’s usually advisable to get checked as if labour doesn’t progress then they might want to help things along.

Hopefully you get a few more weeks to prepare for the new arrival! Good luck. I had my first in early Jan many moons ago.

How are you today?

If this is outside of baby's normal movement pattern, definitely go to get checked. Increased activity can be a sign of distress, and no one will judge you going for peace of mind.

It's most likely the food / change of pattern being away from home, but that doesn't mean you should ignore it. ❤️

Hi everyone, thank you so much for the lovely messages and advice, this helped me so much!! I eventually fell asleep for a couple of hours and when I next woke up baby movements were just back to normal (usually has a little party at 4am lol) and have all been normal today thank god. I've just arrived back home and tummy has been fine today so must have been the food! Thank you for all the advice and well wishes, can't wait for baby to be here in January so I can relax a little (aka worry about something else because I know it never ends 🤣) xx

This is how my last labour started - a bit of a runny bum at 35 weeks. I was pregnant with twins, though, and panicking. I called the hospital and they sent an ambulance and I was blue lighted to hospital (I wasn’t even having contractions lols).

When I got there I was soooooooo embarrassed - but also shocked when they said you’re in labour (babies born 4 hours later).

Yeah, definitely call them for advice.

I had a loose bowel in both my pregnancies exactly one week before my babies were born. Sadly, the first came at 19 weeks. My second came at 33+1 and my waters went at 32+6. I knew both were out of the ordinary for me because I spent the absolute entirety of the pregnancies constipated except for those two occasions.

Wow @Horrorscope I bet that was such a shock! Must have been your intuition kicking in to know to call up though as they were on their way! 😊 I have a consultant appt at my maternity hospital today so going to mention to her while I'm there - feeling much better though and had no other symptoms so think it might have been the food! X

@KittyFantastica so sorry to hear this ❤️ thank you for sharing, it's so interesting how the symptoms can be so varied and anything that is out of the ordinary could be a sign that they're on their way! Will definitely keep an eye on how things go over the next few days x

I thought I had food poisoning. Dts decided to turn up at 31+2. Call!

I thought I had food poisoning. Dts decided to turn up at 31+2. Call!