Contractions - 2nd pregnancy « Hellobee Boards

Contractions - 2nd pregnancy

By sorrycharlie Nov 12, 2014

I'll be 30 weeks Saturday.

At my 22, 26 AND 28 week appts I told the midwife I've been having contractions. She said with no bleeding not to worry, and if I have more than 4-6 in an hour to call. She also said since it is my second I will feel more cramping. I told her these definitely aren't just RLP, they peak!

I don't think I have had them that often - I mean there's no pattern. Drinking water doesn't seem to make a difference. My pain scale of contractions is skewed from my first labor (3.5 hours, no Epi til about to push).

When would you be concerned? Would you be? Or would you just continue to mention at each appt to make sure it is on record? I go next week again.

You might also enjoy...

Tags: (no tags yet)

10 comments

MrsRcCar
grapefruit / 4712 posts

Nov 12, 2014

I would keep your midwife in the loop. I had contractions early too. I had E at 35 weeks. Hope your LO stays in and bakes a while still. Go with your gut momma.
SeptMomma12
pear / 1849 posts

Nov 12, 2014

I started having contractions with my first around 20 weeks. Mentioned it to the doctor and they said the same thing - only call if more than 6 in an hour with a noticeable pattern. I sorta felt like they didn't believe me. Finally at 28 weeks I couldn't take it anymore and went to the hospital. As soon as they hooked me up to the monitor, they said "Whoa, you're having real contractions every few minutes." Duh. I ended up on bed rest and medication until 36 weeks and kept LO in until 39.5 weeks. I would go with your gut. If you're concerned, maybe insist on being monitored. Then they can tell you if they are concerning or not. And definitely try to take it easy!
winniebee
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts

Nov 12, 2014

I would follow my doc's suggestion.

Last time I had preterm labor at 30w -- BUT my doc's instructions were to call if I had more than 4 BH an hour for 2 hours. And I almost always did. So they did a cervical exam and an FFN test (which came back positive) and the cervical exam really got things going and I ended up 1cm 50% effaced and in the hospital then bed rest.

This time, I started having BH contractions at 18 weeks and some real contractions starting around 28w. My doc (different doc) has told me if I have 6 contractions for more than 2 hours with rest to call. Since 30w I definitely have had 6 contractions on my feet. So we decided I would modify my activity and rest as much as possible. No checking my cervix, no FFN tests. There have been times I have been close to calling my doc but can manage the contractions with rest (water doesn't help). I've made it to almost 35 weeks without a hospital stay or bed rest. At 36 weeks my doc says to just call when in labor.

So, I think it depends on what your comfort level is and whether the contractions slow down with rest. I was not comfortable having one on top of the other contractions given my history, so slowed down considerably at 30w this time. I don't think having random contractions is uncommon for second time pregnancies, but I would call if you have 4-6 an hour consistently while resting.
Bluebonnet
persimmon / 1427 posts

Nov 12, 2014

@sorrycharlie: I'm confused - are you saying you were only in labor for 3.5 hours before pushing? If so, I'd be VERY concerned.

With LO2, I started having BH contractions at 20 weeks and my doctor was extremely concerned. I was instructed to drink water and rest. That worked sometimes, but I still had a lot of contractions very early (more than I was comfortable with). My doctor told me to really take it easy and not lift anything heavy (including my toddler) and rest as much as possible. I was very cautious, but still ended up delivering 2 weeks early.
sorrycharlie
hostess / watermelon / 14932 posts

Nov 12, 2014

@MrsRcCar: @SeptMomma12: thank you! I will definitely keep mentioning it. I'm seeing a different OB this visit, so maybe a different perspective will be helpful, too.

@winniebee: do you think the cervical check made things worse? reading quick while O is whining/screeching hah. I'll definitely try to avoid any internal checks if possible!

@Bluebonnet: yes - my water broke (no signs of labor, on my due date - my appt earlier that day I was barely 3 cm) and I was fully dilated 3-3.5 hours later. We are planning an induction for 39 weeks to avoid a home or highway birth (haha, not even joking!) so I am especially afraid of going into labor on my own and not making it to the hospital in time.
winniebee
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts

Nov 12, 2014

@sorrycharlie: yes, definitely. for me, they always triggered more contractions even at 36, 37, 38 wks.

Eta - this time I had ultrasound monitoring of my cervical length until 28w. And all was fine so from that point on we relies upon my contractions to indicate ptl. After 28w your cervical length is not an indicator of preterm labor and instead contractions are a better measure. Your cervix shouldn't dilate unless you are having productive contractions (more than 4-6 an hour for several hours).
HLK208
pineapple / 12234 posts

Nov 12, 2014

I had a lot more contractions early on with my second and third pregnancy. Just keep telling your midwife! With my third pregnancy, they were really, really intense. I had them from 25 weeks until I delivered at 39. Still, they wouldn't check me until 39 weeks because they didn't want things to progress (sure enough the same day they checked me, I went into labor).
MrsRcCar
grapefruit / 4712 posts

Nov 12, 2014

@sorrycharlie: preterm labor is no joke. Hope the OB agrees. I will be thinking about you.
SeptMomma12
pear / 1849 posts

Nov 12, 2014

@sorrycharlie: My doctor never checked to see if I was dilated because they were afraid that might trigger something, but they did do several TV ultrasounds to check cervical length.
Raindrop
grapefruit / 4731 posts

Nov 12, 2014

I feel like my hospital is super cautious about this. So I believe if I mentioned I had contractions they would definitely rush me in to see if I was okay. Every appointment, they tell me that if I have bleeding, contractions, or don't feel the baby move 10 times in a 2 hour period once a day to call and come in.

I hope your practice takes this more seriously!

Though I hope your baby stays in there. She needs to cook a little longer! Good luck!

Member	Posts
BUNBUN	1
Fawn	1
cyoung	1

	Today	Monthly Record
Topics	1	0
Posts	0	1

Hellobee Boards

Contractions - 2nd pregnancy

You might also enjoy...

Reply

most popular tags

most recent archives

Recent Blog Posts

Recent Board Posts

Classifieds

Deals

Today's Leaders

Contractions/Labor

Today's Posts

Site Basics

Features

Series

The Team

More