I close my eyes and I know I’m worrying for nothing. “Just a bit of a sore back. Being a whale will do that to you,” I joke.
“Oh.” He thinks for a moment. “All right, see you soon.”
I slowly get up and walk around the room.
Okay, even if this is early stages of labor, which it’s not… but if it is…
Cameron will be finished in surgery by the time the baby comes anyway. I glance at the clock.
11am.
Shit, his big surgeries normally take at least twelve hours, and he would have started at 7am… so we’re looking at either eight or nine o’clock tonight before he’s out.
I take out my phone and type a ridiculous question that I already know the answer to.
How to slow down labor
I wait for the answers to appear.
Empty your bladder. Lie down tilted towards your left side; this may slow down or stop signs and symptoms. Avoid lying flat on your back; this may cause contractions to increase. Drink several glasses of water, because dehydration can cause contractions.
Ok, I lie down on my left side and try to calm down. I’m not even in labor. I’m just being silly, I know that. Stop being overdramatic.
I Google again.
The latent phase can last several days or weeks before active labor starts. Some women can feel backache or cramps during this phase. Some women have bouts of contractions lasting a few hours, which then stop and start up again the next day. This is normal.
Oh good, this is normal. Great. See, nothing to worry about.
I search again, and frown.
Preterm labor is labor that happens too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. If you have preterm labor, your health care provider may recommend some treatments that may help stop your contractions and prevent health problems in you and your baby. These treatments are not a guarantee to stop preterm labor.
Fuck. I search.
Problems for baby born at 36 weeks’ gestation.
The answer comes back.
At 36 weeks, the risk of health complications decreases significantly.
The risk is much lower from babies
born even at 35 weeks.
But late preterm babies are still at risk for:
Respiratory Distress
Jaundice
Low Birth weight
NICU Admission
Developmental Delays/Special Needs
Patent Ductus arteriosus
By far, RDS is the biggest risk for babies born at 36 weeks. Baby boys seem to have more trouble than infant girls.
Fuck… calm down… it’s not happening. But if I do go into active labor, I need to get to the hospital as soon as I can so that they can try to stop it.
Yes. Okay, that’s the plan.
My stomach clenches again and I screw up my face and rub my stomach.
“Stay in there and be a good baby, please?” I whisper. “Not today. You’re not cooked yet.”
For an hour I lie on my side as my stomach clenches and tightens. Nothing else has happened so I’m just going to wait to see. If I go to the hospital too early they’ll just send me home.
My phone rings, it’s Adrian. “Hello?” I answer.
“Do you want a coffee or something?”
“Can you just come now, please?” I ask.
“What’s up?” He sounds like he’s frowning.
“I think I’m having contractions but I’m not sure. If I am, we have to get to the hospital as quickly as possible,” I blurt out in a rush.
The line stays silent.
“Adrian?” I ask.
“I’m here,” he murmurs. “Just having a silent panic attack.”
“You and me both.”
“On my way, baby.” He hangs up.
I lie down and try to calm myself some more, and twenty minutes later I hear Adrian’s Corvette roar up the driveway and the door slam with force. Then I hear his voice. “Ashley! Where are you?” he calls.
“Up here,” I call back.
He takes the stairs two at a time and comes running into the bedroom. “Oh, my God, what’s going on?”
I smile, and he comes and sits next to me on the bed and takes my hand in his. “Are you all right?” he pants.
I giggle. “A lot calmer than you seem. Did you just get a speeding ticket on the way here?”
He widens his eyes. “Like I care?” He shakes his head and rubs my stomach. “What happened?”
I shrug. “I’m probably being overdramatic.” I pause. “I’ve just been having back pain since last night, and now my stomach has started to contract.”
He frowns as he listens.
“And I Googled it; if I’m in labor I need to get to the hospital to try to slow it down a little.”
Adrian’s eyes widen in horror. “You’re a doctor, Ashley. How do you not know if you’re in