BH or early labor?

babymackey

hey ladies.... I'm 35 weeks today and have been having consistent contractions for the past hour! They started a little before 8 pm and after a few of them I decided to download a contraction timing app and track them. I tracked my first contraction at 8:11 pm and it lasted for a little over a minute. Since then I have had contractions every 3-8 minutes, each lasting a little over a minute long (with the exception of two of those contractions which lasted only a little over 30 seconds). According to my timing app, the *average* is 1:04 long and 4:55 apart which makes me feel uneasy because of the 5-1-1 rule.

...but here is the thing that is throwing me for a loop! They're really not very painful. They're definitely uncomfortable and a little bit painful especially when I move or touch my stomach but I can easily talk through them and they're really just not that bad. Is this enough to call the on-call midwife on the "emergency" line or is it probably ok to wait til morning (office closed)?? I hate bugging the midwife after hours if it's unnecessary when other women certainly need her more! I don't like to call at all unless it's truly necessary, especially after hours!

LadySamLady

My OB wants me to call if I have more than 4 BH or contractions in an hour, sounds like you've exceeded that already so definitely call. 

saladflambe

I would call.
My mom didn't feel pain in early labor. 

kbrands7

Definitely call your OB to be sure-- usually if you've had 4-6 contractions in a hour even while hydrated and resting, most OBs want to know.
That said, it sounds a lot like what I experienced with false labor in my last pregnancy. I'd basically have time-able BH for hours, starting around 10min apart and progressing to 5min apart, but not painful and not 100% regular. Then they'd stop and a few days later they'd return.

Fwiw, my doctor's theory was either irritable uterus, or that baby was malpositioned (which he was) and my body was trying to adjust him. Or possibly both things happening together. 

TinaTho

Pretty sure they'd want you to call in and let them know what you are experiencing. 

babymackey

This sounds a lot like what I've experienced. A few days ago I had them 10 minutes apart for almost an hour and then stopped, and haven't had them since until tonight. Not painful. Good to know!!  Thank you @kbrands7

doozer1345

They're going to tell you to go to L&D to be monitored. Might as well start there.

Bellodomani

This happened to me off and on from 24 weeks on with my first pregnancy, and I didn't deliver until 42 weeks. I definitely called my midwife and checked in with her and I believe I had an NST or two to monitor. This time around the exact same thing has been happening from about 27 weeks on, and I'm convinced now this is just what my body does so I don't bother with calling my midwife anymore. But it sounds like this is your first time experiencing this, so you may as well give a call just in case.