My Irritable Uterus
Towards the end of my pregnancy, I started having contractions that I knew were not the typical Braxton Hicks contractions. Each time, my nerves would skyrocket, and I'd set the timer on my phone. Sometimes, two or three would be consistent, but most of the time I'd just have one contraction and then nothing. There were a couple of mornings where I was convinced that these contractions meant that I was in labor, I'd tell Jeremy to keep an eye on his phone, or ask him to not even go to work. Each time, after a few hours, the contractions would subside. I started to panic, thinking I would never be sure of when I was really in labor. I went in for one of my weekly check-ups, and as the doctor was checking my fundal height, he commented that he could feel I was having a contraction. I mentioned that I had been having them intermittently for the past month. He noticed that every time he applied any pressure on my stomach, I would get a contraction. They were not incredibly painful, but they were uncomfortable, and definitely different than the Braxton Hicks I had been having. The doctor determined that I had an IU, or an irritable uterus. Despite the many different books and articles I had read about pregnancy and childbirth, I had read absolutely NOTHING about IU, and even as I went to google in attempts to find something out about it, the resources were quite lacking. So I wanted to take some time to talk about this on my blog just in case any of my reader's has experienced the same thing, or is experiencing the same thing and has no idea what it is.
Differences Between IU, Braxton Hicks, and Labor Contractions
Let's explain what an Irritable Uterus is. IU is when a woman has contractions but they do not have any effect on the cervix (so you are not dilating with each contraction). Another difference between IU contractions and labor contractions is that with IU, the contractions are not usually consistent and can, at times, be constant. My own personal experience was that, at times there would be a constant twitching and tightening in my stomach for sometimes as long as a half hour. Other times I would have a contraction for a minute and then it would go away for half an hour and then return. It was completely unpredictable, but different than the Braxton Hicks because the level of discomfort was different. With Braxton Hicks you feel your stomach tighten and it can be difficult to breathe for a few seconds. With my IU contractions, I felt my stomach tighten and there was a heavy pressure as well as cramping pain. They were very similar to my labor contractions, except for the fact that they were not consistent and the level of pain did not increase as time progressed. Finally, there are different triggers for IU. For me, as I said before, anytime any amount of pressure would be applied to my stomach, I usually caused myself to have a contraction. If someone touched my belly, if I was sitting in the car too long, if I had to squeeze past someone in the grocery store, there it was.If You Have IU
If the doctor determines you have IU, depending on other risk factors, they may put you on bed rest or ask you to come in for weekly non-stress tests. While there has not been a lot of solid research about IU yet, doctors have determined that at times it can trigger pre-term labor. Luckily for me, I ended up not being high risk. I did not need to be on bed rest, and I never went into pre-term labor. In fact, I ended up being overdue by a week and half (though I didn't need to be induced). While it caused discomfort and caused a few days of sleepless nights and a fair bit of tears, my experience with IU was more of a speed bump. The most unfortunate part of it was that there was so little research done on it, and I had never heard of anyone having it. When you're pregnant, books and other friends' experiences become your comfort, so being diagnosed with something that I had never heard of, and most people had never heard of, was very scary to me. Hopefully my testimony and a little bit of information here will ease the mind of someone else who is going through the same thing.More Information
If you're looking for some more information, your best bet is to google IU and read the accounts of the few people who have actually gone through it. You can also refer to these websites:http://www.irritable-uterus.com/BH_vs_IU.asp
http://www.everydayfamily.com/irritable-uterus-vs-braxton-hicks/
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