I have been on Brethine to stop preterm contractions from weeks 31-36 of my pregnancy. I was taken off of the medication five days ago and have been having contractions ever since. Are these contractions harmful for the baby? I continue to contract (sometimes as often as 15 times in an hour), with no onset of labor. I am sore and tired and discouraged. What can I do to make this easier on myself until real labor begins? And how will I know? This is my second child, and the same thing happened with the first. I contracted, but I never dilated on my own, even after my membranes had ruptured and Pitocin was administered.

Faith

This is one of the most frustrating things for women who are placed on medication to stop the contractions of preterm labor -- they have to take a drug to keep from going into labor, but then when the drug is stopped, they don't go into labor right away and may even need to have labor induced! Because we cannot always accurately predict which women who contract early will actually deliver early, we often err on the side of caution in prescribing drugs like terbutaline (Brethine) to stop contractions.

I am assuming that you had a cesarean section with your first baby, as you say you did not even dilate with oxytocin (Pitocin). Unfortunately, whether or not the same thing will happen again is also impossible to predict with 100 percent certainty. Usually, real labor is heralded by regular contractions that increase in severity and frequency, leading to the cervix dilating. Some women are plagued by irregular mild contractions for many days before true labor starts. Sometimes walking or taking a warm shower or bath will provide relief. You may want to ask your doctor about a mild sleeping pill if you are not getting any rest. I presume you've already talked with your doctor about VBAC (vaginal birth after a past cesarean) versus just scheduling a repeat C-section, and also about when and why an induction of labor would be considered if you do not go into true labor on your own shortly.