Irritable Uterus?

For all the pregnant mommies, in case you experience anything like this, I wanted to share what I know about Irritable Uterus.  I must admit that I had never heard of such a thing until I was 22 weeks pregnant (I am 27 weeks now) and was having very regular fast coming contractions for an entire weekend, although the hospital advised me against coming in since it was too early in my pregnancy and it would be considered a miscarriage at this point.  I tried resting on my left side, walking, taking a hot bath, drinking a ton of water and nothing worked.  I went in to see my OBGYN the following Monday, where they checked my cervix which was nice and thick still, ran some tests to check for infections and dehydration, that might have brought on contractions and found nothing.  They then told me it is probably an irritable uterus. What? I said.  They explained that some uterus from stretching or over growth can become irritated and cause contractions that feel very real.  They do make you have a slightly higher risk of pre-term labor, but it is typically not the underlying cause.  I was put on strict bed rest until I reached 24 weeks, viability of the baby.  I still rest quite a bit because if I do too much, they do come back, and they have started hurting my back lately as well, getting more painful each time I get them.  They are very different from Braxton Hicks contractions, which I know very well after 3 pregnancies, which are milder and much more sporadic. These contractions were less than 2 minutes apart and lasting over a minute long.  They lasted almost a full 2 days, progressing on the 2nd day.  You feel them over your entire belly rather than just a portion.

One thing I do remember, is that since the beginning of my pregnancy my uterus has measured 3-5 weeks ahead of the baby's gestation age/size.  At my 24 week ultrasound, my uterus was at 28-29 weeks, they just keep saying it is an enlarged uterus and nothing of concern, as the baby will grow into in, but the baby never has, I am consistently every month ahead.  I wonder if it is enlarged since my last child, my son was a 8 pounder.  Or, is my baby actually older but measures smaller, since my due date was detected by a measurement ultrasound, as I did not know when I became pregnant.

I would love to hear your stories or information on this subject.

For more information, check out the wesbite dedicated to Irritable Uterus or check out BabyZone.

My Ultrasound from December 2011.  It's a Girl!