Prolonged Early Labor

K

KatieSeegs

Member
Hello, everyone -

Wondering if anyone here has experienced what is called prodromal labor or knows someone who has experienced it. It's not false labor but is instead real labor that doesn't progress to active labor within typical timeframes.

Tomorrow marks the two-week point of early labor. For a full week I've been fully effaced, I'm dilated to 3, the mucus plug is gone, and the baby is descended into position. I'm having what are clearly contractions but just when I think this might actually be it, they stop for a few hours. It's not painful except for brief moments, but it's physically and emotionally draining. I'm exhausted.

If I don't go into active labor by the time I see my doctor tomorrow, they're going to schedule an induction, with the timeframe TBD based on how I'm feeling.

Any words of wisdom out there? Coping strategies? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Even knowing that someone else has gone through this would be a relief.

Thanks,
Katie
 
Katie,

I don't know anything about this but will ask around. It sounds pretty challenging, I'm guessing you're anxious to move things along but would prefer that it happens as naturally as possible.

I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers and hope for a smooth speedy delivery sometime soon. :)

All my best,
Steph
 
Katie,

I haven't found any mom's who've been through this yet. I did read a bit about it and it sounds like it's tough to know what's early and what's the real deal. How frustrating for you. I think it would be both mentally and physically exhausting.

One site I read from a midwife says that you should try your best to reserve your energy and get as much rest, relaxation, and sleep as you can right now. So you'll have something left to give when the time comes. Apparently that's easier said than done, I'm sure it's difficult to relax with contractions!!

Here's the blog posting by the midwife, maybe you've seen it already:
http://observantmidwife.blogspot.com/2006/06/pre-earlyprodromal-labor.html

I'll continue to keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Hang in there and do keep us posted.:)

Take care,
Steph
 
Hi,

I'm sure you've already had your baby but I wanted to pipe in and say this happened to me with both of my pregnancies. My first time around it started at about 32 weeks and my doc put me on bed rest thinking I'd barely make it to 35 weeks. Well at 39 weeks I was induced. Had about 3 false alarm trips to the hospital - it was so frustrating!

With my second one the same thing happened and I was determined to go into labor on my own but after 3 weeks of it I asked to be induced at 39 weeks again! It's a pain but we still get babies out of it! I have a friend who had 4 boys and the same exact thing happened to her every time!

Hope all is well with you and your baby!

angie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top