February 2013 Moms

Does Pre-labour exist?

Okay this may be a stupid question but after talking to my cousin who had her baby a little over a year ago I am really curious. I was talking to her about some of the symptoms I have been having lately and she said it sounds like I'm in Pre-labor. And when I asked what she meant she explained it as " what your body does when your not quite ready but your almost ready, so make sure your bags and things are prepped ". Is there such a thing?

I mean I know BH are the bodies way of preparing but she said it goes beyond that.  She said the fact baby is going quiet more often, that im feeling more and more restless, and that if im up on my feet for more then 10 minutes I start having really intense BH's to true contractions that I almost always feel really down low (I swear its the cervix TMI sorry). She went on for a while but that's the gist.

Now I know its probably a silly question and shes just bought into some wife's tale or something but I was wondering if anyone else had heard of this. Or sort of had things like these happen and LO arrived shortly after?

Lilypie Maternity tickers

Re: Does Pre-labour exist?

  • I know a lot of women on here say it exists...not sure if OB's use the term or not. Everytime I hear a woman on here describe what she's refering to as prelabor it sounds miserable...like a labor that is just stalling for a few days but continuing to hurt.
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  • All of what she describes are known as "possible labor signs". Yes, lots of women had those signs and then had a baby shortly thereafter - but hopefully not at 34 weeks. Many, many women had those signs but then waited weeks and weeks for labor to begin spontaneously. Check the 3rd tri board and you'll see dozens of "am I in labor" posts with similar descriptions.

    Anyway, the only time those signs start to mean something is when your water breaks or you have regular, painful, progressing contractions. Then, you can look back and call it pre-labor. Until then, you're just uncomfortably pregnant. Labor signs are like early pregnancy signs: you can have every symtom in the book, but until you have the most important sign, it's not the real thing.

    I suppose your cousin is correct that you are getting closer to labor, but if she suggested you may go "any day now", I hope she's wrong because it's too early still.

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  • I'm starting to think it does. My first pregnancy I didn't know the differents between contractions. They all felt the same to me. (I also never had much of contractions till I was a 7 and they broke my water then I got the epi so not sure if they changed) 

    This time I get Braxton hicks A LOT and I can feel them getting more and more painful and stronger but not frequent (which is good) but feeling the change happening makes me feel like I'm getting closer, then I had a ultrasound and  baby has dropped very low and faced inside so I know he is getting ready also. The pressure is getting worst (like he is about to fall out) and Increased discharge. I think all the little things are my body's way of starting labor. It's not like I'm "in labor" about to have a baby. But i can feel things happening/changing. But I really am hoping not soon since grandma Inlaw won't be here till the 28th to watch ds while Im in labor. So I need to keep this baby in! Lol 

     

  • imageDC2London:
    You can be in early or "prodromal" labor for weeks.  I've had  painful contractions off and on for weeks now and they do seem to be slowly changing my cervix, but obviously I wasn't in "full blown labor" as I still have an inside baby.

    I agree completely. All last week, I swear I was having real contractions, not BH. Come to find out I was having contractions when I seen my midwife today. It's just contractions that aren't leading you into active labor. She did mention that the crampy feeling that I am experiencing that I've had every day/night is causing my cervix to dilate slowly, as I just lost my mucus plug and went from a 1 to a 2 in a week. 

    I swear I struggle to cook dinner and fold laundry. If I stand more than 5 minutes at a time, I swear I feel like I'm about to go into labor.  Hope this helps.

    BabyFruit Ticker
  • I was in prodromal labor for weeks with DD. It was miserable! And every week I went to the doctor I would be 1 more cm dilated. It seems to be happening again with this one.
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