Telling normal symptoms from preterm labor
I had my second meeting with the perinatologist today about my short cervix. There's no change--my cervix measured from 2.55 to 3.04 during this sonogram. But the doctor put me on bed rest for the foreseeable future. And he super-scared me talking about the symptoms of premature labor to watch out for.
Pelvic pressure, menstrual cramps or contractions, change in discharge, back pain.
Well, in 21 weeks I have had all of these symptoms off and on. Pelvic pressure, because my baby is riding really low. It feels like she's pushing against my pelvic floor or like someone is inflating a balloon inside, sometimes. I've always chalked it up to gas. Mild menstrual cramps off and on since the beginning and sometime contractions low-down when my bladder is full. I've just assumed the backache was par for the course, and my discharge (sorry, sorry, gross) varies from day to day, from thin and white to thick and bright yellow. It's always been that way for me. And I've been told that ALL OF THESE ARE NORMAL.
Now I am afraid I won't know how to distinguish normal symptoms from preterm labor. Can anyone shed some light? If you've gone into preterm labor yourself, did you experience these symptoms, and if so, how did they feel? What kind of back pain, what kind of discharge, were warning signs for you? How did you know they weren't normal?
I don't know what I am going to do with myself for the next however-many weeks, but this little face makes it all worthwhile.
Pelvic pressure, menstrual cramps or contractions, change in discharge, back pain.
Well, in 21 weeks I have had all of these symptoms off and on. Pelvic pressure, because my baby is riding really low. It feels like she's pushing against my pelvic floor or like someone is inflating a balloon inside, sometimes. I've always chalked it up to gas. Mild menstrual cramps off and on since the beginning and sometime contractions low-down when my bladder is full. I've just assumed the backache was par for the course, and my discharge (sorry, sorry, gross) varies from day to day, from thin and white to thick and bright yellow. It's always been that way for me. And I've been told that ALL OF THESE ARE NORMAL.
Now I am afraid I won't know how to distinguish normal symptoms from preterm labor. Can anyone shed some light? If you've gone into preterm labor yourself, did you experience these symptoms, and if so, how did they feel? What kind of back pain, what kind of discharge, were warning signs for you? How did you know they weren't normal?
I don't know what I am going to do with myself for the next however-many weeks, but this little face makes it all worthwhile.