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Some questions about labour.

Hi everyone...I am 39 weeks today and getting a little fed up. Keep waking up in the night with heartburn, congestion & just generally feelin stiff and awkward. Or to go to the loo...bloody nightmare!!
Really feel ready to have my baby now!

But I have had NO signs whatsoever! Had the teeniest spot of blood the other day. But it was hardly anything. Haven't had a show...have had NO braxton hicks contractions! Is it possible to go into labour when you havent previously had regular BH contractions?? Most people I've spoken to say it has nothing to do with actual labour. I know someone who had their lo early and never had any. And someone who had loads and went 16 days over. But I'm not convinced tbh that I will go into labour naturally if I've had no "signs".

Also, does sex help at all? I've kind of got my sex drive back anyway so we've been having it every day...is it a myth or did it start labour for any of you?

Sooooo fed up! :\(

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Replies

  • Got no advice tiger lily but I am sure it will happen soon. I heard nipple stimulation can make you go into labour but it might have come from a pervy bloke before you twang your nipples!! image LOL!! (you can just imagine some blokes saying that!) I also heard curry, castor oil works but I don't know how true it is. Bless you I am sure it will happen to you soon. xxx

    [Modified by: discodevilx on April 21, 2008 08:25 PM]


    [Modified by: discodevilx on April 21, 2008 08:25 PM]
  • Hey Tiger Lily, just wanted to let you know that with my first baby I had no bh, no show, no pains, no signs at all and when I went to be induced I'd dilated to 3cms! So having no signs doesn't always mean that nothing's happening.

    I've had a few pains today but I don't think anything is really happening...though I prob wouldn't know if it was happening!

    Lea. xxx
  • With ds1 I had no signs, just waters broke 17 days early. Hubby jokes about me missing the 'nesting instinct'! Ds2 waters broke again 6 days early with no signs.
    Dd - I had every bloody sign going from 34wk onwards and tried everything to bring on labour. The last straw was sex...neither of us keen as I was huge, but the day b4 she was born we did the deed and that night I felt restless and woke to contractions at 5am! Convinced it was sex that did it! Gracie was born bang on her due date!
    Good luck, look forward to reading your birth announcement! x
  • Hi hun, i had no BH at all and i went nearly 2 weeks early but i put that down to loads of sex. tmi cominh up but if you wanna go natural here is my advise!
    Have sex every day for at least a week but once OH does the deed, lay with your feet up and let it soak in! sorry but you were warned! LOL
    This softens your cervix. Sit for about 5 minutes with your legs up like trying to get pg! It worked for me. I wouldnt worry about a show either, i didnt have anything like that and lo was born less than 1 hour after getting to the hospital with no tears or anything! LOL
  • Thank you girls...I have been reassured! Am just feeling very negative today for some reason. Think it's cos I have nothing to do.

    Diane, I had thought of doing that oddly enough! May try it!xxx
  • hi i too have never had braxton hicks this time or last pregnancy. i originally wanted a home birth (but now cant cause of group b strep) but anyway... was really concerned about not going overdue and wanted to go into labour naturally and things the midwife told me to do were:

    eat fresh (but not tinned) pineapple

    lots of sex (cause the hormone in semen acts like the gel they use for inducing labour - apparently has pigs sperm in it or something)
    but she also said to tilt yourself (your hips)up the way for at least half hour after sex (so semen cant run out - we did this to conceive baby too)

    i have also heard about nipple stimulation (altho i think you need to do it for at least 15 mins to have any affect - this apparently causes some kind of hormone in you.

    hope that helps you a bit x


    http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/1;19;29/st/20080523/dt/5/k/1ec5/preg.png








    [Modified by: lauragcam on April 21, 2008 09:43 PM]
  • hello, so if you have sex up to a week before your due date are you more liekly to have the baby on time rather than go over due?

    From the things I've heard this is your week before baby this should be include in your daily tasks...from what i've gaqthered from friends and on here, just doing one of the things below doesnt always work. So my guess is, you have to do it more frequently! Then again im only guessing as this is my first! i can cope with the sex and curry eating. If im not to tired should be able to do the walk...not sure about all the pineapple though!!
    1) eat curry for tea
    2) have sex
    3) go for a walk
    4) eat pineapple for each meal!
  • hiya
    According to my antenatal classes - you'd need to eat 7 pineapples in a day for it to have any effect. As for the nipple tweaking - 2 hours a day for 3 days i think it was. Hubby liked the nipple tweaking idea but I told him to get lost!!

    I had my lo 6 days early (well it was a week early when i went into labour) - I'd had no bh that I'd noticed, no sex, no pineapples or curry, and a mw appt about 14 hours before I woke with contractions where the mw had said my lo was barely engaged and to make an appt in 2 weeks time cause he wasn't coming any time soon! She was surprised to see me in hospital 2 days later image. My friend saw me that evening and she knew i'd be having my lo soon because apparently I was so fidgity and up and down off my birth ball (only comfy seat!) and complaining of backache (my lo was back to back) and thats probably the only sign I had. My friend didn't tell me though because she didn't want to panic me...shame she didn't cause I'd have probably packed my bag better!!

    There were 3 of us on the Dec forum due on the same day and I was the one with no signs and the baby back to back and he was early, the other 2 were late and I'm sure at least one of them had bh's quite a bit.

    Hope your lo arrives soon for you image
  • I was constantly looking out for 'signs'. I had no branston pickles (as oh called them!) When i finally did go into labour (5days over) I didnt believe i actually was in labour )as i had gone into denial that it was ever gonna happen! lol. My 1st labour pains were like period pains that v slowly got stronger and stronger for about 6 hrs then i had a hind water leak (which i thought was my waters going) thats when i went into hosp (at 4cm dilated). I didnt have a show till 8cm.. quite near the end!!! x x x x Good luck.. i'm sure it'll happen soon. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
  • personally, i found sex had no effect but on the day i went into labour, i tried nipple stimulation pretty much all day, and had very strong BH and then at the end of the day at midnite, i went into labour. could be worth giving it a go?? i thought that the real contractions felt like the same kind of stomach cramps you get when u have a bad tummy and diahorrea. i just thought i needed the loo at first! lol!!
    good luck, baby cant stay in there forever!!

    love grace and erica xxx
  • Hey tiger lily.... We have spoken on pregnancy chat before. I did have braxton hicks. But I also had sex very regularly and one night more so than ever and two hours later my waters broke.

    but my labour went all day the next day.GGGGrrrrrrrrrr

    Hope it happens soon for you

    Tash+Genevieve
  • Hi

    Just wanted to add that I had no pre-labour symptoms at all. I had a very small show but only after both my sweeps. No BH. No "nesting". My hind-waters broke when my contractions started but the fore-waters were broken my mw.
    I went 14 days overdue and was quite convinced that I'd never actually give birth, I'd just keep getting bigger and bigger until I eventually popped!
  • i went into labour on the mon night and had lo on wed night, there wasnt any signs before that, i tried sex, pinapple, hot curry, long walks etc but they didnt work. my daughter was 6 days overdue. hope your not waiting too much longer to meet your lo x
  • I didnt have any signs at all. saw mw the thurs b4 jason arrived n i was 3/5 engaged, the tuesday after waters went & he was born at 23:21.
    you must be getting annoyed now hun, you were only a week after me!!! n jason's 3 weeks tomorrow!
    good luck hun & hope you have a smooth labour image
  • I didnt have any signs at all. saw mw the thurs b4 jason arrived n i was 3/5 engaged, the tuesday after waters went & he was born at 23:21, 6 days early
    you must be getting annoyed now hun, you were only a week after me!!! n jason's 3 weeks tomorrow!
    good luck hun & hope you have a smooth labour image
  • Hi Lovie

    I know how you feel! I was 9 day over with Jacob and got sick to death of everyone ringing me everyday to see if there was any news! As if we wouldn't ring! Anyway, I went for a walk with my hubby and the dog every night and bounced around on my birthing ball! I had a sweep as well, and I also ate quite a hot chilli con carne the night before i went into labour! I never had any braxton hicks, only the real deal! Don't know about the sex thing, is it a myth? I had a hard time pursuading my hubby when I was so pregnant anwway, but we had a good laugh trying!

    Hopefully you won't have to wait too much longer! Good Luck:lol:
  • Hi - can you explain what the difference between front waters and hind waters is?
    Sorry - bit in the dark here!
  • On the topic of does sex encourage labour...think for me it was just coincidence!
    tmi.....we had sex weekly throughout pregnancy. My waters broke immediately after we had sex. 14 hours later our daughter was born, with only 1.5 hrs being in active labour!

    In guess, at the end of the day our babies will arrive when they want to. However hard we try to encourage them to come sooner! xxx
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