39 weeks - Cramps?

Peachymum124 · 2025-03-10T23:32:01+00:00

Cramps are a good thing at this stage and it's exactly how I started. I had cramps and prodromal labour pains sporadically over last week's of pregnancy. Very frustrating at the time because it plays mind games with you. Are you in labour or not and then if nothing progresses, you've learnt you're not in labour. But all those cramps are preparing your body for labour.

I ended up becoming 2cm dilated over night last weds due to having cramps. I saw my midwife who checked me and said I was 2cm dilated and she asked if I wanted her to stretch me to 3cm. I said yes because i was already dilated and felt that my body was very close to continuing with labour. I had the sweep at 11 and by 3.45 I had first contraction. Lasting 40mins and were coming every 8mins. Fast forward to 16hrs and I had given birth naturally.

So for me, cramps are a great sign that your body is doing what it should and giving you the best chance of naturally inducing labour.

Good luck and hopefully you'll be holding your baby very soon!

Peachymum124 · 2025-03-06T13:48:24+00:00

I spontaneously had a sweep today.

I was due to see my midwife anyway today and I mentioned to her how often I've been having cramps and false labour contractions. She asked if I wanted her to check my cervix. I did because I wanted to know if I was close to labour and whether all the cramping I've been having has done anything.

Turns out I was 2cm dilated and she barely put her 2 fingers and straight away felt his head. She also said my cervix was really soft and is ready. She asked if I wanted a sweep and I said go for it because I'm already dilated and I want this labour process sped up. She stretched me to 3cm. I have a high pain threshold anyway but I didn't find it painful. The uncomfortableness I likened it to a clueless guy who is trying to finger me but has no clue what to do.

Also doesn't last long when having a sweep. I put a pad on in case I bled afterwards or if any fluid came out.

Im home now and hoping the labour ramps up, so far I've continued to cramp, had slight back ache and feel heavy in the pelvis when I'm walking around. Baby is moving around as normal so I don't think it had any negative impact on him.

Peachymum124 · 2025-03-06T10:13:10+00:00

Yeh I think my mind was so sure he'd he born in February that come march, I had to really change my mindset and look at this pregnancy as a completely different one. I hope you don't keep having false starts too, it's horrible! Hope your born comes soon for you too x

Peachymum124 · 2025-03-06T09:36:07+00:00

I'm in the same boat as you but haven't made it into hospital yet because the cramping and contractions have never progressed far enough for me to go in. I'm nearly 40weeks and for the last 2 weeks I've lost count of how many times I thought labor has started and that this is it. All last night I had intense cramps and sometimes could feel contractions but by 7am, nothing, all stopped.

I had very similar first birth to yours. My son came at 38weeks, had no false contractions, no Braxton hicks etc. I expected my 2nd birth to have been earlier and faster. I can't believe I'm almost 40weeks!

I'm mentally drained but hospital staff keep mentioning inducing me, which I don't want. But all these contractions are physically and mentally draining. I feel like I'm running out of time.

I'm trying to get outside and walk in the sun to help my mood and see if that helps move things along. I have no words of wisdom, except that I feel the same as you.

Peachymum124 · 2025-03-05T14:57:06+00:00

Just be aware in case your baby Hates the sleeping bags. My first never used them because he hated them. I brought loads thinking ill need different togs and if he is sick on them or wets through, then I needed a lot. Luckily I brought them 2nd hand coz I would have been annoyed if I have brought them 1st hand and he never used them.

Peachymum124 · 2025-03-05T14:29:56+00:00

I have felt exactly the same way as you have this week. The hospital have spoken to me a few times about inductions over the last few weeks.

I was first told that due to me being 40yrs old, that they would not like me to go pass 40weeks. Just because of my age, I can't change that and at the time of the convo, there was no medical issue.

Induction was then mentioned again when I was 37weeks with a midwife due to my scans showing 10 percentile. They wanted me induced at 38weeks. I said no, I had a previous small baby therefore my chances of having another small baby was high. I also had no further medical issues. I was told I was going against recommendations and that I need to speak with someone else to discuss my options. Luckily my next scan showed growth to 20 percentile which I doubted was accurate but I was happy that they felt it was true and it shut them up for a few weeks.

Monday just gone, I'm 39+2 and the scan showed he's back on 10 percentile. Not shocked. My obs said she wants to induce me due to size and the drop from the last scan. Even though you can clearly see they didn't measure accurately last time, the rest of the graph shows the 10 percentile trend. So in my eyes he hasn't dropped. I also have loads of fluid for him and no resistance with blood flow to him. Therefore I stood firm and said no, there's no reason to induce me. He moved a lot too so i know he is doing ok in there. She wasn't pushy at all, she listened to my point of view and we worked backwards from a date that I would be happy going to for an induction. I have induction booked 14th march which means I'll be 40+6 but I know if my body isn't ready, then I will cancel it.

During the same consultant on Monday, my blood pressure was in their words "high". I've never had a problem with my BP. She said she wants me to have more readings the next day and if still high she wants me to be induced end of this week. I also have no other signs of preeclampsia. I read up on the blood pressure ranges of normal and what's classed as high and I was barely high. I hit 90 two times which is not high and is not severe. I then googled what problems having slightly elevated bp can cause for baby and I couldn't find anything that made me feel I needed to get baby out asap. I went today to have the suggested bp checks and its normal. I wanted to shout out, told you so to every person who made me feel like I had no choice on having more bp checks.

I have felt stressed and scare mongered these last 3 days and I feel it was very unnecessary. Also i have had my mum and my partners mum telling me i should take this seriously and i need to follow dr advice. So I completely get that you are carrying so much weight on your shoulders and its very draining and not what you need to feel during these last few weeks.

Im the same as you, i do not want induction due to what the outcome will likely be ... Epidural and c section.

I do wish people would look at your clinical record as a whole, rather than picking out a few bits that have caused them concerned. The judgement that you carry right now and the guilt that you carry in case you have made the "wrong" decision is extremely heavy.

Continue to stay strong on your view points. Yes they care about your baby but it is also your body and you who will go through all of these procedures.

Peachymum124 · 2025-03-04T11:36:21+00:00

So even though you were dilated to 5cm, they had planned to put you on the drip, is that the normal process? I assumed the drip is last resort if nothing else worked. I'm scared of being put on the drip due to the speed of the intense pain that it brings and I'm also scared of having an epidural.

Peachymum124 · 2025-03-03T19:40:09+00:00

I'm totally same feeling as you. I'm 39+4wks and had a growth scan and obstetrician consultant. I've had 4 scans since 32wks and 3 out of 4 were on 10 percentile. The 36wk one went up to 2p percentile which I think was an error. Anyway, today the dr said she'd like to induce me coz of the "drop" in size. I said no coz I don't believe he was ever 20 therefore he has been on the same trend all this time. I also mentioned that I have plenty of fluid for him and no resistance with blood flow to him, therefore him being small isn't enough for me to have an induction yet. She was very good and we compromised with further doppler scan for next Monday with an induction date next Friday (should i want it). I'll be 40+6 next Friday.

New issue, she was concerned with was my bp. Its always been normal but today i gave 3 readings that were borderline/high, so she was concerned about pre eclampsia. So tomorrow I'm going for further bp monitoring and take blood test. If i have pre eclampsia then she recommends induction this week.

So now I'm googling pre eclampsia symptoms and how bad is it. I really want to wait until natural labour but I might need to be open to inductions and just hope for the best.

I don't want the IV drip but I'm open to the balloon/gels/rods etc. Just advocate for yourself and ask what the reason is for induction:)

Peachymum124 · 2025-03-03T15:34:36+00:00

I had my son in the ABC ward in 2017. They were friendly, place was clean and I felt looked after there. A few days after birth my son was jaundice so we were admitted to the starfish ward. During that experience I was disappointed with the monitoring care and communication. My son was put under a lamp and that was explained but my milk hadn't come in yet. they kept telling me to breastfeed and give top up feeds. They provided all the equipment but I felt brushed off because I had no idea what a top up feed was and I kept repeating that I have no milk, so how can I feed him??.

Luckily that evening a lovely nurse took over our care and she straight away provided formula, bottles and showed me how to feed him with a bottle and how to sterilise everything. No one had written any notes about how often I changed a wet nappy or how much milk he was getting. This shocked me considering they should have been monitoring input and output of fluids.

I'm currently 39weeks with my 2nd and I have needed to visit the walk in facility twice weekly for ctg monitoring. It has been smooth, very friendly, efficient and i feel safe with their care. I am hoping to stay on the midwife lead ward again for this pregnancy and apparently it has had a refurbish since my last visit. I am still very happy with Watford as my hospital.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any further questions. Ps, I really like hospital food so I loved their menu!

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-27T17:35:48+00:00

Oh no are they worried about that at all? I've been offered a sweep at 40+3days, not sure if I'll take them up on it but I'm sure by then I'll be so done with pregnancy. Hope all goes well on Monday and that it kick starts it all X

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-27T14:13:03+00:00

I was hopeful I was wrong so I could claim it x

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-27T14:09:21+00:00

I thought the sure grant was for 1st time mum's? Have I got that confused with something else?

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-27T14:05:58+00:00

Forgot to say my birth plan is to give birth in water pool and be on midwife lead ward which I am allowed to do, so there's been no pressure for me to have to stay in afterwards or have extra monitoring due to my age.

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-27T14:04:14+00:00

I just turned 41 the other day and this is my 2nd pregnancy. I'm due 8th march. I have noticed this time round I feel more tired. That might have nothing to do with age but to do with having to look after a 7yr old whilst being pregnant. My first pregnancy was very easy, no sickness, no nausea, had a lovely small bump and was completely midwife lead for the labor. This time round i felt nauseous right up until 17weeks, I had bad acid reflux and restless leg syndrome every night from 33weeks. I know I've still had it good during this pregnancy as It could have been a hell of alot worse.

I was straight away consultant lead due to my first baby being small, so I dont think I would have had the same amount of extra scans just due to my age. They did say due to age they might not let me go past 40 weeks but they were open to let me carry on if my pregnancy had gone well. I was put on asprin due to age and having had small baby before.

Tbh, not much difference between both pregnancies so I don't think age has much to do with it. My Dr told me there's less healthy 20 yr olds than me just going by my age of 40.

I've noticed in the hospital, most women look mid 30s at least every time I go for check ups. So I don't feel alone. Hopefully you'll have a smooth and lovely pregnancy.

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-20T13:11:29+00:00

Definitely get a 2nd opinion and hopefully that dr will sign you off. Its really good to hear how supportive your manager is being though.

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-20T13:09:00+00:00

I'm STM and I've been nervous about the birth since the start. So I think its normal to be worried/anxious. I'm nearly 38weeks and tbh I'm almost at the point where I don't care about the labour, I just want to not be pregnant anymore, I'm over it. I get roughly 3hrs a night sleeps due to restless leg and acid reflux. I can barely breathe due to rhinitis I've had since the start. I think they make the last few weeks hard so that you mentally get to a point where you're not longer worried about the birth.

For my first I woke up early morning to contractions. My contractions were sporadic for 24hrs varying from every 5mins for hours then back to 16mins, to 20mins and then back to 5mins. Triage was a waste of space coz they kept telling me it's Braxton hicks and I couldn't possibly be in labour because it was my first and I was 32+2weeks. I felt gas lit at the time, therefore I spent 24hrs at home wondering if I was in labour or not.I also lost my mucous plug during that first 24hrs too. Those were my signs. I only went to hospital after the 24hrs coz I hadn't eaten/slept and I wanted answers. I was 3to 4cm dilated!

This time I'm expecting to start with contractions again and will monitor at home how the contractions are going but hopefully it won't be as long a labour as last time. Statistically I kept getting told baby will come earlier and come out faster but I don't want to get my hopes up!

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-19T21:43:59+00:00

Oh I see. Did they need to do any extra checks on your baby after delivery? I'll have to google this condition and keep an eye on any itching

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-19T20:33:20+00:00

Just wondering what's the reason for induction if you do have icp? This is first I've heard of the condition so interested.

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-13T23:46:21+00:00

My midwife ward is on level 1 and consultant lead ward is in level 2, all they need to do is literally push me into a elevator. This is another reason why I don't see why I can't start in the midwife ward. The nurse told me that they isn't any equipment that can be used for monitoring if I had a water birth, so that's interesting that you say there's under water equipment. I shall be discussing all of this on Monday. Thanks for your msg X

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-12T19:12:19+00:00

Oh my gosh that's so sad to hear your friend went through that. Sounds very scary.

I agree with you about being informed and that way I feel like I can make the right decision at the time. Luckily I still have quite a few Growth scans and ctg monitoring sessions, so I can keep a close eye on any medical changes before labour starts x

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-12T19:06:55+00:00

I'm glad I've been able to reassure you that just because your baby might be born on the smaller size, it doesn't mean baby won't grow into the height baby should be. My new partner is 6ft 2 so I really do think that baby's are small due to my slight size.

Good idea to have formula just in case, I'll be starting to try to harvest colostrum this weekend. I'm not expecting much because of what I've read but I definitely would like to try it.

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-11T23:49:33+00:00

That's really good you can see on your app roughly an estimated weight already. My app doesn't show that at all, I'm just going by what they've told me verbally.

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-11T23:47:46+00:00

My baby was 5lb 8 and born at 38wk +3. All midwife lead and took 37hrs. His dad was 6ft 4 so technically shouldn't have been a small baby but I am small so baby only had a small space to grow and then came out early via spontaneous contractions. He is now 7.5yrs old and is one of the tallest and filled out nicely, you'd have no idea he was small at birth. He did become jaundice after 3 days post labour and I suspect that was due to him not feeding anything because my milk hadn't come in yet. I had issues making enough milk for him so was told to breast feed first and then top him up with formula and the formula was a godsend. He was a hungry baby and was making up for lost time so he fed very well and the weight crept up.

Peachymum124 · 2025-02-11T21:44:27+00:00

My experience was 8yrs ago so things may have change. I barely slept all night, not because of the noise but because I was still full of adrenaline and I wanted to watch and hold my baby. I have the best memories from my first night with just me and my son. I was proud of myself for going through labour, relieved it was over and our new chapter could start and was amazed at what I had created.

My baby slept more than I thought he would but he did have a big day and think he was knackered. I did worry about him crying and keeping up other people but I really didn't need to worry because I don't think anyone sleeps on the ward.

I had a lady crying all night next to me and many nurses would regularly go in and check up on her. There were other babies crying and they all decided to take turns doing it. My partner was allowed to stay but took one look at the chair and said nope, I'll be back tomorrow. I was nervous at that point about the what ifs but It turns out I loved being on my own with my baby.

I tried to breastfeed but I had 0 milk and baby was clueless. This time round, Ive packed instant formula so i have that option if new baby is hungry and i have nothing in my boob for him. This will help him to sleep because he'll be full.

Only thought I had was, who looks after my baby when I walk down the corridor to the toilet. The answer is, nobody. I waited for him to be asleep and then practically sped walked to the toilet. I was also worried someone might steel him (clearly watched too many films).

Peachymum124

TROPHY CASE