Initial Post and Thoughts on False Labor

Hi, and welcome to my first post! I'd love to have you come by and visit often; that is, assuming that I will post often...

I am a midwife. You may see posts on midwifery, or on my everyday life in rural Texas.

Sometimes I will be busy catching babies; other times I may just be quilting.

Today I'm meditating on false labor. Why is it called false labor? Well, it tricks us into thinking it's the real thing. A false labor may drag on for days. And what characterizes it? Generally, no change. The intensity stays the same, or gets lighter. The spacing of the contractions stays the same, or gets longer. And the length of the contractions stays the same, or gets shorter. Also, if you have to "baby" the labor, it's not. In other words, if you have to stay in the same position for the contractions to keep coming, then you have yourself a false labor.

Some midwives call it prelabor. This is because they assume that these contractions are actually doing something. The truth is, we don't know. But false labor happens often enough that you don't need to feel ashamed if it fools you. One of my midwife teachers is fond of saying that the record for false labors is ten! In other words, there was one lady who was fooled 10 times before she actually went into labor. That should comfort those of you (like me) who have been fooled into thinking, "Here we go!" just to be let down when the contractions quit.

I went on a false labor run yesterday. It was lovely. I visited with the lady, her man, and her children. Baby was fine. We ate well. Mr. Husband cooked free-range eggs, upside down pineapple muffins, pancakes, and fresh organic fruit. We rested. And then I came home. At one point she thought her water had broken. An amniotest came back negative. No amniotic fluid. No problem.

I had a nice drive back home, where I await the next call. Who knows where it will lead to next?