Contractions at 33 weeks ... stressed

H&H2014

Well the other night I had a lot of discharge, then a little fluid the next night and then intense back pain and some contractions Wednesday morning. I took it easy all day and felt better... then the pain came back that night. I called the doc Thurs morning and they sent me to L&D.  They kept me all day for observation. I was having contractions and my uterus was "irritable" so they gave me Terbutaline by injection and then two doses later of Nifedipine.

I'm now on modified bed rest with doctors orders to basically drink as much water as possible and keep my bladder empty (this is fun... NOT). 

I'm really glad baby girl is staying put for now, movements are good and she doesn't seem to be in any distress.  I'm not on any meds, still have pain but doc doesn't want me back unless it gets worse. Since they monitored me in the hospital for 8 hours yesterday and nothing changed with my cervix they think it should be ok.

I'm trying really hard to stay occupied and not stress.  My due date is May 30 and my maternity leave starts May 1... not sure I'm going to make it to that but really don't know right now! 

Pregnancy is cray cray. LOL

Anyone else in similar situation?

jenb_99

I had a bout of irritated uterus a couple of weeks ago after overdoing it on vacation. I was having a few "real" contractions mixed in with intense and very frequent BH contrax. LO's position was causing me severe RLP, which exacerbated the problem. I spent a week relaxing as much as possible and drinking more fluids, and the contrax pretty much stopped. Then LO flipped head-down and the pain and discomfort went away 100%.

I'm totally back to normal now. I even resumed regular workouts. Maybe your experience will be the same. FX!

H&H2014

Oooh, hope so! That is great to hear. I feel like a ticking time bomb. LOL

blessednewmom1

I have been having the same type of contractions due to irritable uterus. However, since they aren't changing my cervix and causing dilation, my doc isn't worried about them at all. I have 8 per hour sometimes. I also had them with ds and he was born not until 38 wks. I am 34 weeks now with baby #2 and they are increasing but my doc isn't worried at all.

whitehousem

I was admitted to L&D 10 days ago with contractions 2 min apart and starting to get more intense (I was 32w3d with twins). They gave me steroids for lung development and procardia to stop/slow contractions. OB did not think I was going to leave without having my babies and said it looked like real labor. I was slightly dilated and there for about 15hours with no change in my cervix. They sent me home and the MFM on call told me to come back when I was screaming (seriously). No restrictions on activity or anything. Two days later I saw my regular OB and was dilated to 3cm and 80% effaced. They told me just to hang out until something changed (water breaks or contrax become more intense). I will be 34 weeks tmrw and still hanging out. I have regular, consistent contractions every 5-7 min... For ten days! Glad these babies are still cooking but it's weird to feel so on edge for so long. You could still have lots of time...try not to worry. 34 weeks is the last major milestone and you are almost there! 34 w babies have a 97% chance of no major long-term problems (it's like 90% at 32w) Good luck to you!

H&H2014

Wow, I feel for you being on edge for so long! It's been 36 hours for me and I am going nuts.  The posts here have made me feel so much better. I knew I wasn't alone! Thanks ladies and best wishes on your post 34 wk deliveries!

Luckily I was able to move up my maternity portrait because we were supplied to fly to Austin but didn't get cleared for travel. Its been a nice distraction.

blessednewmom1

My best to everyone posting on this thread!! I had one additional question....has anyone that is experiencing irritable uterus contractions have a past c section? My ds was a c section 2.5 years ago and so the on call nurse was slightly more worried about my contractions since she thought it could increase my risk of uterine rupture, but my doc doesn't seem too worried on that front. He said if they aren't strong enough to change my cervix they should not be strong enough to affect my c section scar.

vszapp

Be sure they tested you for a UTI and BV. I had the same thing with frequent contractions and it turns out I had asymptomatic BV....

jenb_99

blessednewmom1 said:

My best to everyone posting on this thread!! I had one additional question....has anyone that is experiencing irritable uterus contractions have a past c section? My ds was a c section 2.5 years ago and so the on call nurse was slightly more worried about my contractions since she thought it could increase my risk of uterine rupture, but my doc doesn't seem too worried on that front. He said if they aren't strong enough to change my cervix they should not be strong enough to affect my c section scar.

I had a c-section in November of 2011. My OB didn't mention it as a cause for concern, though. She just said some women have contractions for no discernible reason, and it sucks to be them, but they're nothing to worry about as long as they're unproductive and the cervix remains closed and fFN tests come back negative.

My on-call nurse is far more conservative (and somewhat alarmist) than my OB. More than once she's advised me to come in for an issue that my OB just shrugged off.

Xath

blessednewmom1 said:

My best to everyone posting on this thread!! I had one additional question....has anyone that is experiencing irritable uterus contractions have a past c section? My ds was a c section 2.5 years ago and so the on call nurse was slightly more worried about my contractions since she thought it could increase my risk of uterine rupture, but my doc doesn't seem too worried on that front. He said if they aren't strong enough to change my cervix they should not be strong enough to affect my c section scar.

Yes, and not to freak you out, but my uterus did rupture on the table as they were opening me for my c-section with my daughter. This was after 4 weeks of fairly consistent contractions (regulated by Procardia). Also, I never effaced or dilated with her until the week we delivered, so I wouldn't say cervical change is the only indicator of contraction strength.

blessednewmom1

@gertiebarden‌ .... How scary! Thanks for your post and insight. When they were doing your c section and you ruptured were you in full blown labor at that point? My OB seems to not really be taking my contractions seriously since they aren't changing my cervix but it sounds like he needs to! Did you have any other warning symptoms that the contractions were bothering your scar?? Pain or anything?'

H&H2014

Mine at least has me on modified bed rest. I'll be working from the couch next week.

kat8805

blessednewmom1 said:

@gertiebarden‌ .... How scary! Thanks for your post and insight. When they were doing your c section and you ruptured were you in full blown labor at that point? My OB seems to not really be taking my contractions seriously since they aren't changing my cervix but it sounds like he needs to! Did you have any other warning symptoms that the contractions were bothering your scar?? Pain or anything?'

Honestly, I think Gertie's story is quite extreme, but it is tragic. If you have concerns that your Dr isn't taking certain issues you find alarming as serious as you'd like, you're the only one who can change that. Mine personally seems thrilled when I say I've been having contractions. We have a RCS scheduled for April 28th, but I don't believe I'll make it that far before going into labor. I will note that both my first CS and this one are by choice, and we were without issue, or in a case of emergency, which could be a reason things may be different for me. We did discuss them having a good look at my uterus, and what kind of scar tissue they find upon opening me up, and just the overall condition that it's in after two CS. This is our last child, but I would like to know my uterus is in good shape for probable surrogacy down the road. We also discussed the issues that can occur, most being rare, after multiple CSs. Talk to your Dr if you have concerns, they know your personal history, and have seen your physical condition. They are the only ones qualified to address your personal case.

Xath

blessednewmom1 said:

@gertiebarden‌ .... How scary! Thanks for your post and insight. When they were doing your c section and you ruptured were you in full blown labor at that point? My OB seems to not really be taking my contractions seriously since they aren't changing my cervix but it sounds like he needs to! Did you have any other warning symptoms that the contractions were bothering your scar?? Pain or anything?'

Definitely don't want to freak you out; just make you aware. My OB said that there's less than a 1% chance of scar rupture so it's very rare. I had been in labor with fairly constant contractions for 4 weeks, and by the time we got to the hospital, they were down to 2 minutes apart and I was effaced and dialated to 3 and progressing.

I can't tell you what the rupture felt like because I was extremely fortunate to be on the operating table with my spinal in when the rupture started. This time my OB told me to watch out for severe pain along my scar line. He told me that the scar rupture is actually the best kind of rupture you can have (if you have to have one) because the pressure on that location helps keep everything contained enough that they have more response time.

If you're nervous, definitely ask your doctor, but remember that it is still extremely rare. Best of luck to you!