Is false labour really this long?

Hiya ladies
Just wanna see if anyone else has had this experience and it turned out to be just braxton hicks or false labour. I’ve had braxton hicks before and it’s not been like this.
Last night period like cramps woke me up at midnight and kept me awake til 2am, then I managed to fall asleep but cramps woke me up again at 4am - 5.30am.
I had nothing then until around 10am - 12 then the cramps stopped for two hours then returned around 2pm, lasted two hours then stopped for an hour and now they have been back an hour. Baby is moving around fine. What is going on???

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My first labour was like this 🥺 sending love mama. Xxxxx

thanks hun xxx

thanks for your help hun xxx

I started getting this and was told it was early Labour especially because they kept getting closer together so keep an eye on the pattern if they get closer together then call up triage and see what they say x

thanks hun x

no worries hope everything is ok x

I had false labor for weeks 😅 it sucks for sure

I’ve been in latent labour for a week 😭 my midwife saw me Wednesday and said baby will like be here by Tuesday but still not sign just blocks of irregular contractions of varying intensity then poof they’re gone 🤦🏼‍♀️

I've had the exact same for the last week. It really sucks!!

Oh nooo! It’s exhausting

oh nooo. How did u know when the real thing came? x

I hope these games stop soon hun! Do u get much relief from them? X

to be honest, I do as it’s not constant, when they stop on my on the ball trying to kick start them again 😂 it’s just more frustrating like come on baby we want to meet you 🥰

I knew it was the real thing when my water broke, I went to the hospital and went from the start of active labor to having him in less than 2 hours

I had this for a few weeks before my daughter finally arrived !

thanks hun x

every few hours every day??? 😱

in our community

Oh my God, oh my God I hope this is not true!!!! I’m kind of scared

I’ve been throwing up and taking a shit all night!!! I just hope that it’s not what I think it is

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What movement did people start to introduce? I won’t do anything too vigorous until I’ve seen the pelvic physio as I don’t want to compromise anything that may have been extremely weakened through pregnancy! But just wondering what types of classes/movement people started off with?

Is this normal??

I’m 29 weeks pregnant and having really aching legs and they’re all lumpy and swollen. Above the knee and behind the knee . Should I be worried ? My legs have never looked like this up until a few days ago. ??

Induction experience

I just wanted to share my experience with being induced as I wasn’t sure what to expect and thought it may help others.

I opted for the foley balloon which was inserted at 8am Saturday morning, I had to stay in hospital due to hypertension and protein urine however usually you can just go home once this has been done. The insertion of the balloon was not painful, was slightly uncomfortable as there was slight pressure. I actually found having the cervix checked prior to be worse (again not painful at this point just uncomfortable) The balloon had little effect and after having it removed I was still only 1cm. Removal also was pain free and hardly even noticeable.

I then had my first dose of the gel and definitely noticed a difference, I started experiencing period like cramps almost immediately however they were light and manageable. After 6 hours I had another cervix check and although my cervix was soft it was still only 1cm and was only open at the front. I had another dose of the gel and felt an increase in pressure and more intense cramping where I now required pain relief (codeine). After another 6 hours I had another cervix check and I had now dilated to 2-3cm however was still quite difficult to get all the way through so a third gel was recommended which I agreed to.

Almost immediately I noticed the difference and was in considerable pain, I had paracetamol and codeine however the contractions had now become intense and a lot closer together (around 3 minutes apart). After a couple of hours I had my last cervix check and was 4cm and taken down to the Labour ward to have my waters broken and an epidural.

I had been in my room for approx 20minutes when my waters broke by themselves and I was now 10cm and actively pushing…. There was no time for the epidural and my beautiful girl arrived into the world within 2 minutes of pushing.

All in all I would say the cramps/contractions were manageable up until the third gel where it became pretty unbearable however it was for a very short time a gas and air helped take the edge off. The worst part about any of it was actually the later cervix checks where after stimulating the cervix my contractions were at their most painful.

If I had to be induced again I would skip the balloon and opt for the gels immediately as thy had a quicker effect and I would have been out a lot sooner if I had done this to begin with.

One more thing, I’ve never believed when people say “you forget the pain once they’re here” but I can honestly say this is true. It’s been 4 days and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.