Prodromal Labor

I’ve got a Midwife joke for you.

Braxton and Hicks walk into a bar…
….Nothing happens. 

Funny, I know. I’ll be here all night. Tip your Midwife. 

But really, what is Prodromal labor?
I believe once upon a time this was referred to as “False labor” and I truly despise that term. There is nothing fake or useless about Prodromal labor. It has a job, and we are thankful that the job it is doing isn’t painful. It’s just annoying at times. 

Prodromal labor refers to the (usually) evening time rounds of frequent Braxton Hicks contractions that can mimic labor. Moms will notice these contractions are more frequent than the day to day variety, her uterus is tightening for short spurts (typically 20 seconds or less), and she will wonder if this is labor beginning. She prepares to sleep, eats and drinks something before going to bed, and wakes up the next morning after a fitful night of sleep to find she is still pregnant and not in labor. 
How frustrating! We get it! Let’s try to understand the process, shall we?

Your body is learning to ride a bike!
Braxton Hicks contractions can be thought of as practice contractions, and practice makes perfect. 
Remember when you first learned to ride a bike? You got on, wobble wobble, fell off. Then you got back on. Wobble wobble, fall off. But eventually you got back on, learned to balance, and took off! You still know how to ride a bike today. 
The body is much the same. For any mom having her first baby, or experiencing her first birth without an induction, your body is having to learn to balance the hormones baby is producing coupled with your own hormones and issue that command to your uterus. It’s a lot. The beauty is that once your body has been given the opportunity to learn this on its own, it won’t forget. Subsequent labors usually begin smoothly, without days and days of Prodromal Labor. 

How is Prodromal Labor helpful? What’s the point?
These concentrated rounds of practice contractions work to do the early stuff for your birth. They soften, thin, and shorten your cervix with the help of those hormones. This early work is key to dilation later once you are in Active labor. This is usually referred to as “early EARLY labor”. 

So now back to my terrible Midwife joke….
The difference between Braxton Hicks (and Prodromal labor) vs. Active Labor:
Braxton Hicks WILL NOT change your cervical dilation. (Nothing happens)
Braxton Hicks contractions will not become increasingly
*Longer, Stronger, Closer Together*. 
That is the key to knowing if you are in or approaching Active labor. 
Contractions will over time become longer in duration, stronger in intensity, and closer together. 
Braxton Hicks contractions coming in fast bursts (aka Prodromal labor) will continue to be infrequent, short, mild. 

I’m tired! How do I sleep through this?
Something helpful you can do when you are just over it all and need some rest, and also a handy way to tell if this is going to become labor or not:
Eat a meal with protein and complex carbs
Drink electrolyte rich fluids
Take 50mg Benadryl or 10mg melatonin
Soak in a very warm bath
Go to sleep!
You’ll either wake up well rested and go about your day or you’ll wake up because your Active Labor contractions have woken you. This “Rest protocol” will not stop active labor, but it will stop Prodromal labor. Either way, rest prior to labor is so incredibly important we can’t stress it enough. 

I hope this info dispels any doubt you may feel about your body and ability to labor naturally. As always, when in doubt, contact your Midwife!