I had my first non-stress test yesterday (will have 2 a week from now on), and the baby was doing great but I was told I was having contractions even though I felt nothing odd. My doctor looked at the readings and had them give me a shot of brethine to stop them. (That stuff sucks, by the way. I felt horrible!) It worked and I left after 45 minutes of no contractions. The nurse commented that I have “the most cautious doctor at the hospital,” and that some would have had no problems letting me go without the brethine.
But I thought it was interesting that I felt nothing. At one point, the nurse looked at the machine and said, “What about right now? Do you feel tightening? Anything?” But no.
Anyway, I asked lots of questions but then left and thought of more. Like, aren’t these just Braxton Hicks (“false”) contractions? If that’s all they are, isn’t that really common? And then, what’s the big deal? If B.H. contractions are as common and normal as all of the sites and books make them sound, what was it about this situation that meant they needed to stop? And if they weren’t B.H. but “true” contractions, uhhh, wouldn’t I feel something more?
So now, every little twinge or shift is making me think, “Is that a contraction?! Am I feelign my cervix do something?!” And then I’m like, “Oh, no, I’m pretty sure that’s just the baby leaning on my bladder again… Time to pee.”
Luckily, I go in for another NST on Friday and can ask the nurse questions then, as well as seeing my doctor next week. But I was wondering if any of you have had a similar experience, or can describe a braxton hicks contraction in more detail than just the usual “tightening of the uterous” which is pretty much all I find on the internet.
(Oh, one piece of good news: The nurse said that though there’s a pill version of brethine, if my doc decides I need to be on something to prevent early labor it will likely be a different medicine since brethine can raise blood sugar. Thank goodness, because that stuff was miserable!)