By Judy Shaw

Pregnancy is such an incredible experience in a woman’s life. My experience was incredible in an unsettling way. While I was pregnant with my first child I felt wonderful for the first six months. I was always on the go and loved watching my belly grow. Then suddenly at 24 weeks, I started to feel cramping and started spotting.

After racing to Labor and Delivery, my ob-gyn told me that I was experiencing pre-term labor. I was clueless; I had never heard of pre-term labor and certainly didn’t know anyone who had experienced this. I was given terbutaline pills and told to stay off my feet for a couple of days. That was easy enough. It was nice to relax for a couple of days.

I went back to my doctor for a follow up visit and was shocked to learn that I was still experiencing pre-term labor. I was admitted to the hospital and my doctor performed numerous tests to make sure my baby was not stressed. It was too soon for my baby to be born. Finally, my doctor informed me that I had to be on bed rest until I was 37 weeks pregnant. Most importantly, I would have to be attached to a terbutaline pump to minimize my contractions. I was in disbelief. How could I be in bed for the remainder of my pregnancy?

The next few months were very difficult. I remained in bed all day and was only allowed to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. I was also allowed to leave the house once a week to visit my doctor. Each time I did get up from bed the pressure of my baby was extreme. I felt like my baby was going to fall out! Wearing the terbutaline pump was a test of my strength and will to deliver a healthy baby. I wore a cartridge with two syringes at my waist which pumped medication into my body every two hours through a small catheter in my thigh. Every five days the site of the catheter would have to be switched from thigh to thigh in order to prevent infection. Thank goodness for my husband who supported me through all of this and helped me change my catheter site. After all I was experiencing, I was terrified to prick my leg with the very small needle! Additionally, I had to wear a monitor around my belly twice a day to monitor contractions. I would submit the data via my phone line to a nurse who would review it and keep my doctor apprised of my progress.

Needless to say the three months I spent in bed were very lonely. I had many visitors, but how I longed to be mobile. Winter turned to spring it became more difficult to remain in bed. Pregnancy is such an exciting time! I was missing out on so much. I didn’t get to dress up in maternity clothes and show off my growing belly. I didn’t get to prepare the baby’s room. I cried a lot, but knowing that I was doing this to deliver a healthy baby kept me going.

Finally, my 37th week arrived and my doctor told me to stop the medication. I had waited for this time for so long, yet I was so scared to be off the medication. The terbutaline had been my security blanket. Now I was ready to have a baby. I was terrified about what was next.

I stopped the medication at 1 p.m. in the afternoon, and was free to do whatever I wanted. At this point, my baby was full term so I could get out of bed, go outside and walk around! Unfortunately, I had been in bed for so long that I had developed atrophy in my legs. I couldn’t walk! My husband took me out for a celebratory dinner that night in a wheelchair.

At 11 p.m., I started to feel crampy. I had never been pregnant before, so I didn’t know what I was experiencing. Was I in labor or was my stomach upset from dinner? For hours I paced back and forth to the bathroom and referred to my pregnancy manual to determine what I was feeling. At 2 a.m. I decided to call my doctor. She told me to head to the hospital. I was excited and frightened at the same time. When I finally arrived at the hospital, I was told to go home because my water did not break. I didn’t want to be home – I needed to be at the hospital! I’ll never forget lying in the hospital bed as the doctor told my husband to take me home. As she said that, I heard a pop! My water broke! How ironic.

Several hours later, after a couple of epidurals and five pushes, my son was born! He was healthy and he was beautiful.

So many people commend me for meeting the challenge of my pregnancy. As difficult as it was, it was what I had to do to for my son. He’s truly my miracle.

About The Author
Judy Shaw is a mother of two and co-owner and President of Sexy Belly Maternity.

Most pregnant women experience these sometimes irritating “contractions”, and are unsure if they really contractions if they normal, and if they are dangerous? These are questions that many women ask as their pregnancy progresses past the first trimester.

In reality, Braxton Hicks contractions, named after an English doctor from the 19th Century, John Braxton Hicks, are a normal part of every pregnancy and start when a woman is still in her first trimester, at about 6 weeks pregnant into the pregnancy. However, most women don’t feel them until at least late in the second trimester, or for first-time mothers, in the third trimester.

What is a Braxton Hicks Contraction?
A Braxton Hicks contraction is a contraction of the uterus that is normally painless, but can sometimes be quite irritating. It consists of a localized tightening in your belly, which does not travel, but stays in one spot. These are considered to be practice contractions, to prepare you for the real thing when labor does start. Braxton Hicks contractions can be intense enough to take your breath away, and make you stop and take notice, but they generally do not cause any change in your cervix, nor are they a sign of preterm labor.

How Do I Know it is Not the Real Thing?
If you uterus is contracting, but there is no pain, especially prior to the last few weeks of pregnancy, it is probably just a normal Braxton Hicks contraction. If you are in the third trimester, and close to delivering, you may question them more.

To see if your contractions go away, or are the start of the real thing, try changing position in bed or on the couch. If you are walking around, sit down and rest and visa versa. Try taking a warm bath to see if that relaxes you. If your contractions are Braxton Hicks, then these tips should help them go away, for the time being at least.

When Should I Call My Doctor or Midwife?
You should always call your provider if you have questions or concerns about how your pregnancy is progressing. If you are not at the end of your pregnancy and your Braxton Hicks contractions won’t go away by trying the above methods, and are instead getting more frequent, intense or painful, you should call your doctor or midwife to let them know, and see if they recommend coming in to the office or hospital to be checked.

As you get close to 37 weeks pregnant, towards the end of the third trimester, ask your doctor or midwife when they will want you to inform them about ongoing contractions. Most providers will have a set time that they tell you, normally when the contractions are 5 minutes apart or less, and last for an extended amount of time. When in doubt, it is always best to call and ask.

A woman’s prenatal appointments generally start off all the same. Your carer will weigh you, ask you for a urine sample and take your blood pressure. For most women these things are routine and the results of them are never discussed. However occasionally they can forewarn your doctor or midwife that there might be a problem starting in your pregnancy.

If a woman’s blood pressure starts rising it will generally start in the third trimester, although some women experience it in the second. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, can be an early sign that a woman has or is getting preeclampsia during her pregnancy. Another sign that can indicate pre-clampsia is protein in the urine.

There are still a lot of questions in the medical community regarding how and why preeclampsia starts. The best explanation seems to involve the placenta, not growing the appropriate blood vessels through the uterine wall to help sustain the pregnancy. In addition to causing the high blood pressure, it can lead to blood supply problems in your unborn baby, as well as liver and kidney problems in the mother-to-be.

Preeclampsia only occurs in about 5% of pregnancies, most of them being the first pregnancies for the mom-to-be. Pre-eclampsia can begin gradually or come on suddenly and can range from mild to severe. At its worst pre-eclampsia can cause death or serious injury to both mother and the baby. Sometimes it is necessary for the doctor or midwife to deliver a baby prematurely, in order to save both of your lives.

High blood pressure alone does not mean that you have or will have preeclampsia. There are many other signs that your provider will be looking throughout your pregnancy. These include an elevated level of protein in the urine, swelling of the hands, feet or face, sudden weight gain and blood clotting. Signs of severe preeclampsia include severe headaches or vision problems, breathing problems, abdominal pain, or a reduction in the need to urinate.

Depending on the severity of a woman’s pre-eclampsia it may be treatable with medication to prevent seizures or with high blood pressure medication. Delivery of the baby, whether early or at term will also lead to the preeclampsia going away.