Odds of going to 40-42wks after false labors?

mlrafiki

Hey all, a while back I posted asking when ladies here went into labor naturally, and most of the responses I got ranged 39 to 42 weeks. I'm here again with a follow-up question about how many of these births were preceded by preterm or false labors? In other words, does having preterm or false labor before 40weeks decrease your chance of a late baby, or is there no difference?

Context: I'm 35 weeks and have been in the hospital with contractions 2min apart twice already this week. I'm now on BP meds until Week 37 to reduce/slow contractions. Just wondering if this means baby is likely to come early or could still stay all the way past 40weeks. Thanks!

NoeliaV

I didn't have preterm or false labor, but I did have frequent Braxton Hicks from 6 months on. I delivered at 38weeks, 2days.

FWIW, my mom did as well and she delivered all 3 of us around 36weeks each.

Also, I know of 5 firsttime moms myself included from this past year and none of us made it the full 40weeks. It's made me a bit doubtful of all those "FTMs usually go late" stories/statistics.

ETA: I hope your baby stays put for a few more weeks!

MitoRachel

I had quite a few painful Braxton Hicks with DS from about 33 weeks on and then false labor at 37 weeks. He was born on his due date. Good news is that the actual labor was only 7 1/2 hrs. long despite the fact that he was posterior.

mlrafiki

redaero:

Nifedipine (Procardia) does seem to work pretty well, though, generally speaking. (I'm assuming this is the BP med you were talking about?) According to a seminar I went to last year, it's the currently most effective tocolytic out there, so at least you've got that in your corner.

GL mama!  

Yes, that's what I'm taking. It seems to be effective, though I still have a lot of erratic contractions. Prior to this week, I'd never had BH before, and now I have them constantly. I just assumed for some reason that I'd go past my due date (probably because of the stat that most FTMs do?), but now I'm thinking it could be any time after they take me off the meds. Good news is that whenever he comes, it appears that LO is a total CHAMP, because he's always super-active with a strong heartbeat no matter what stresses are occurring on my body. The docs and nurses always seem impressed by him.

Thanks all for the answers. Very helpful.  

wifeofadam

Prodromal labor for over a month here, yet I am still pregnant at 41w2d.

I had it for a month with #2 too and he was five days late.

My baby that came at 37 weeks had no prodromal labor and I had only a few nights of it with the one that came on her due date.

danienross

I started having contractions at 34wks with my first and was induced at 40wks5days due to office policy to not let anyone go past 41wks.

I started having contractions at 33wks with my second and she came on her own at exactly 41wks.

I tend to be the only in my circle of friends who have prodominal labor like that though.

annabelle.27

With my second, I had every prelabour symptom in the book starting at 35 weeks, including losing my mucous plug and regular and timable contractions, and I made it to just before my due date. It ended up making for a crazy short labour, though.

Haley.Beth

+adamwife+:

Prodromal labor for over a month here, yet I am still pregnant at 41w2d.

I had it for a month with #2 too and he was five days late.

My baby that came at 37 weeks had no prodromal labor and I had only a few nights of it with the one that came on her due date.

This sounds exactly like me. I started having pretty regular contractions on and off starting around 37 weeks. Once, at 38 weeks, I fell and sprained my ankle, and contractions came so hard I was almost ready to go to the hospital. Then they died down. Again. I did this on and off until 40 weeks or so with me and everyone around me swearing the baby would be here soon, then everything stopped. My water spontaneously ruptured at 41+1. 

mlrafiki

This is all very helpful: thanks! Sounds like it doesn't matter how early I start having contractions, baby will still come when baby's ready and that could be late. *shrug* Oh, well: I was prepping for the long haul anyway.

Rosebud2587

I went into preterm labor at 33 weeks, baby was born at 42 weeks.