This may be graphic and TMI but not sure how to ask my question without giving some details!
My daughter started going in to preterm labor at 31 weeks. She had dilated to "a little over 2" and was 60% effaced. She was given magnesium in the hospital after terbutaline injections and several trips to l & d did not work. She went home w/terbutaline pills which seemed to do the trick. She still had occasional contractions but nothing very painful.
The first two dr. appts. after the hospital showed no more dilation so all was well. She had to see an NP during her visit earlier this week. The NP told her she was "about a 1" and her cervix was thick. That was on Wednesday.
Yesterday, she started spotting bright red blood, more when she wiped and then lots of mucus. I know that's all normal. A couple of hours later she said that it felt like when she is having a period and has a small gush of blood but when she went to the bathroom, it wasn't blood but fluid. Not mucus but more watery. Ok, could be her water breaking, especially since she started having some pretty intense contractions.
After they were at 4-6 minutes apart for a little over an hour and increasing in intensity, we went to the hospital. By the time we got to the ER (have to go through there at night), they were 3-4 minutes apart and she had to stop and really concentrate because they were quite painful.
The nurse checked her and told her it was possibly very early labor because she was "not quite a fingertip dilated" and very thick. They hooked her up to the monitors for observation.
After several hard contractions, they stopped. They didn't ease away. It was like flipping a switch. The line on the monitor was flat. She dozed off and on. After an hour had passed, the nurse came in to send her home. Before the nurse left the room, they started back up but were about 7-8 minutes apart. She was sent home with an ambien to help her sleep.
She continued throughout the night having occasional contractions with only a few being intense/painful. They are not very regular.
She has a history of genital warts. She said she can feel them on her cervix. The information is in her chart at the hospital.
How likely is it that the warts are starting to block the opening of the cervix and causing it to seem to be smaller than it was originally? Should that not be obvious to someone examining her? Neither of us thought about it last night and the nurse wasn't too keen on answering questions. The doctor doesn't return calls. You have to go through the nurse unless it is an emergency.
