32 Weeks is this preterm labor?

MelonieBeck

I'm 32 weeks and 3 days pregnant. 

Monday I started to have serious contractions in the morning the contractions early on were so painful I thought I was going to pass out. I left work and went to Labor & Delivery at my hospital where they monitored the contractions and did an exam. Eventually they hooked me up to an IV to stop the contractions from happening and it seemed to work. I was released and went home. Once I was home I only had a few more non-sever contractions.

Tuesday again in the morning I started to have contractions and I was sent home early from work to rest. Once I was home by lunch time the contractions seemed to stop, my last being at 12:45. At about 6PM my husband and I decided to go out to dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary since I was feeling a bit better. The moving around it took to get dressed and get in the car started to cause pain again, after that I had contractions for about another hour. I was also feeling sharp pains in my lower back sometimes with the contractions and sometimes without. Eventually they slowed and I went to bed.

Today I woke up and I've been having contractions but not very frequently, probably about 2 per hour. I also have much more pressure in my lower abdomen along with "globs" (sorry) of discharge. While I was in the hospital Monday they let me know my cervix was totally closed so I doubt that this is the mucus plug I've been hearing about. My contractions today aren't very painful but I can feel them I'm not sure if I shoudl go back to the hospital or if this is all normal. This is my first pregnany so I'm learning as I go. My biggest issue is that overall I feel a very "uneasy" feeling that things are going to unfold much differently than expected. 

Cause for worry? Should I go back to the hospital? Is this normal? Anyone else experience these issues before 37 weeks?

Thanks in advance!

mb314

Call your doctor or midwife - I'm not sure if going to the hospital is necessary, but you need to be in contact with them about your symptoms.  They may want to see you in their office.  What you have today seems more like Braxton Hicks, but it could be real contractions.  It is hard for us to know (I'm a non-medical professional, and an internet stranger). 

The "globs" of discharge sound very much like you're losing your mucous plug.  Just because your cervix was closed yesterday or Monday doesn't mean it hasn't opened.  My cervix was just 1 cm, and 24 hour later I had already had my baby with no induction or other methods of trying to bring on labor. 

MelonieBeck

Thank you everyone! 

I called my doctor yesterday and let them know what was going on. My next appointment is scheduled for tomorrow. I let them know I would be staying home from work and I wanted to move my appointment up since I was having all of these issues/symptoms. They told me that there was nothing they would be able to do in the office and if i was having contractions to go back to L&D.

I'm not totally sure what a fetal fibronectin test is but they did give me some sort of vaginal exam. Up until that point I hadn't had any bleeding but the size they used was apparently way too big and it caused bleeding. They told me the test would be able to predict if I was going to go into labor or not but because there was now blood that the test would be invalid so I couldn't get results for it.

Since I made my orig. post my contractions are still pretty steady about 2 per hour most aren't very painful but I'm aware that they are happening. The most painful part is the pains in my lower back. About halfway through my 2nd trimester I would get a dull ache in my lower back if i was standing or walking for too long. This pain though is sharp and lasts anywhere from 10-20 seconds and then its gone.

Again, Thank you SO much for your help.