Well, here is my educated advice to you:
You sound like you are in prodromal labor. This is where you have contractions that are irregular, sometimes very regular, and they are painful. But yet, dilation and effacement is not changing in a positive direction and with great regularity. It is downright exhausting and frustrating! It's hard to sleep, hard to get comfortable, and you just don't know if you can do it anymore.
This will not go on forever, I promise you!
What you can do:
---Drink lots and lots of water, juice and decaf tea. You need to keep hydrated. This is especially so if you have an "irritable uterus". This is when you get cramping that comes and goes, and is short in duration for each cramp. Basically, your uterus is dehydrated and tired. When I say drink "lots of water" - I mean just that! Drink up to/or more than a gallon of fluid per day -- more if you live in a hot area of the country!
---Ask your provider about medication you can take at home. (**Disclaimer!** NOT MEDICAL ADVICE!) Ask about Benadryl or Ambien.
---Ask your provider about an overnight admission to the hospital for IV fluid hydration and/or morphine rest. Morphine rest is something we do commonly for prodromal labor on L&D. We give you a shot of morphine and phenergan in your buttock/hip, and it either 1) knocks out the contractions to let you sleep and labor stops, or 2) allows you to rest for a few hours and you wake up dilated more and in active labor.
---Submerge yourself in a big tub of warm water. This helps take the pain and pressure off of those sore spots during pregnancy (back, hips, belly, legs). To be most effective, you need to have access to a deep tub or a hot tub. You want to be able to totally submerge your belly into the water.
---Get your partner to give you a massage. Lavender oil/lotion helps with relaxation, and you might find that this helps you. Even if it's just a little bit of help, it's better than nothing, right? Here is a list of relaxation oils -- some that are excellent: lavender, tea tree, sandalwood, eucalyptus.
Certain essential oils are to be avoided during pregnancy and include:
- Basil oil
- Birch oil
- Cedar oil
- Cinnamon oil
- Clove bud oil
- Cypress oil (avoid in the first two trimesters)
- Fennel oil
- Hyssop oil
- Jasmine oil
- Juniper oil
- Lemongrass oil
- Myrrh oil
- Parsley oil
- Pennyroyal oil
- Peppermint oil
- Rosemary oil
- Sage oil
Posts
17 comments:
I was in prodromal labor with both of my children for about a week. The last two days of my second pregnancy I had contractions around the clock every 15 minutes.
Hindsight being 20/20 I didn't really mind it. I was 4cm dilated and nearly 100% effaced by the time I actually went into active labor, so from that point on it was smooth sailing and I dilated quickly and had an easy time pushing.
Prodromal labor isn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it has a good outcome!
I get that prodromal stuff for maybe a week before actual labor. I still have the "aha, this is real labor" moment though in real labor. Usually it's because I wipe and there is a little blood, or the contractions don't go away when I sleep...or don't slow. It seems when I am very active in the day they come on, but at night they slow a bit. I think real labor is different in that nothing changes it much. Also, I find most of my babies were born in the dark hours...so I labor in the evening and into the night. Prodromal is just different but enough the same that it gets confusing!
Blessings!
dawn
I love that now that I'm taking my OB class I can understand more and more of what you are talking about!
Glad I could help you KLS.
I agree with the other commenters - prodromal labor sucks - but you do get that "ah ha!" moment when you realize things are different and you're in active labor.
Been there, done that one... Contractions every 5 minutes the entire week before my daughter was born. Probably because I was working full-time, had a 2-year-old at home, and it was 95 degrees out.
BIG AHA moment with bloody show when out shopping with husband and son. I was getting groceries, they were browsing toys. They came upon me breathing through contractions in the frozen foods aisle.
Finished shopping, drove 30 minutes home with the groceries, unloaded said groceries, drove 30 minutes to family to drop son off, went to hospital and was holding my daughter 3 hours later! No meds, textbook vaginal birth, pushed for a whopping 9 minutes. She was 8lbs 9.5 ounces and gorgeous!
I wish I'd seen your post eleven years ago. In hindsight, I can say I had prodromal labor with both my kids, the first from about 38 weeks to his induction at 42 1/2 weeks. None of my midwives ever mentioned drinking water, despite the fact that it was late July in central CA, 100 degrees every day, and I was trying to bring on labor by walking miles every day. Hmm.
I am a fan of theraputic rest - morphine. But we don't admit women for that. We give her a shot and send her on home. It works so well! For moms who don't want traditonal medicines, your other suggestions are great. I would add some...(check with YOUR healthcare provider before using)...
Red raspberry leaf tea or capsules - it's supposed to work very well with prodromal labor by soothing an 'irritable' uterus
Black Haw tincture (double the dose for heavier women)
Foods with tryptophans (natural sleep inducing chemical) - turkey, bananas, warm milk (in hot chocolate)
I usually suggest benadryl for rest.
It's also very important to remind mothers that this is NOT an indication of how long their labor will be!!!!!!
HI,
Question about essential oils.
What about shampoo with peppermint in it while you are pregnant ? Can you still shampoo your kids with it.
I also read conflicting reports about tea tree oil. Some say it is fine, others say it is not....
Great Blog by the way !
great post. I think prodromal labor is by far one of the worst labors to go through!
Especially frustrating when other practitioners refuse to help the woman out and go on and on about "false labor" and "low pain tolerance"!
A friend of mine who is a superb doula also reminded me that there are often reasons that labor is just not kicking in...could the baby be OP or asynclitic? In addition to the measures you mentioned, try rotational positioning. Could there be emotional barriers that may be keeping Mom from releasing herself to labor? Helping her find ways to deal with them...talking, praying, singing, crying, therapeutic touch, massage, reiki, hypnosis, a warm bath, writing...might help. Penny Simpkons book, The Labor Handbook addresses many ways that labor may be slow to start or stall...and provides information on teasing out the
causes and possible solutions
I'm going to chime in to agree with RedRN. A prodromal labor OFTEN is caused by a baby in an OP or breech position. Get the baby moved, and the prodromal will either go away for a while, or go right into active labor. I encourage my clients to check out techniques at www.spinningbabies.com in this situation.
Ahh yes, I had this for 2 weeks with my last 2 babies. It was something I LOVED having hypnosis for. I could put on a CD and get some rest and often it would help me fall asleep.
I think if for nothing else hypnosis for childbirth can help moms stay rested, especially in the last few weeks of pregnancy.
Though prodromal labor is still frustrating even while rested!
Morphine shot, with my firstborn, put me into active labor! I was able to sleep for 5-6 hours and woke up 5cm. Three-and-a-half hours later I had a baby in my arms!
I didn't get the shot in my hip/butt though; just the morphine. My baby did have her first BM in utero and I wonder if the morphine played a part in that..?
I never knew that being dehydrated could cause uterine cramping, until it happened to me. I was told to drink 3 glasses of water right then and lie down. Within 30 min. I felt normal. Guess I just wasn't paying attention.
I had prodromal labor with both of my babies, the second one lasting almost two weeks. Except for me, contractions were irregular, NOT painful, but they were slowely changing my cervix. By the time I started active labor I was 4cm dilated. The differences between the two were huge though, as I had learned my lesson the first time - get rest! Don't expect labor to start just because you are having contractions. Try to relax and go on with your life and wait until the contractions are regular and strong.
had with all 3 babies for 1.5 - 2 weeks prior. Lots of hot baths and an occaisonal glass wine led to quick and easy labors!!! More women would experience easier labors if they would just be patient and trust their bodies. Most get frustrated ( totally understand this!!) or exhausted and end up induced : (
this is very helpful to read, as i think i'm experiencing prodromal labor now. it's my second pregnancy, the first one ended in a c-section due to dystocia. i'd really like to have a VBAC and have been worried that the dystocia will happen again. this time, i'm having painful contractions that wake me up at night or that i have to stop and breathe through. but very irregularly and it's been going off and on for a couple days. i'll drink more water, get my husband to rub my back and try to wait it out-- due date was yesterday and the c-section's scheduled for a week after the DD-- we'll see what happens. maybe i'll sneak in a glass of wine too.
Post a Comment