A Little Bit of a Scare...

...and possibly a little too much information if you're squeamish, just a warning!

Tuesday afternoon I went to the bathroom and noticed a dime sized blood clot when I wiped. I wiped again and there was another. I immediately called my OB practice who had approximately six thousand questions to ask before deciding not to send me to the ER (I guess I passed!) but said that they would like to see me in the office this morning as a precaution.

So I had an appointment this morning at nine. I went in a little bit nervous, but expecting everything would be just fine, especially since I was having absolutely no other strange symptoms. They listened to Sofie's heart and measured my belly just like they always do...pass and pass. Then they did an internal exam to make sure that there was nothing unusual going on in my nether regions (and holy hell is that ever uncomfortable!) Unfortunately they discovered that I am starting to dilate. The midwife was able to put her entire (relatively small) finger through my cervix (and oy did I mention the discomfort?) So...that started a bit of an adventure.

They collected a swab to send in for a fetal fibronectin test, which is a test that can determine if there is an increased risk of starting labor within the next two weeks, and then they hooked me up to a monitor for awhile to make sure that Sofie was moving and sounding good and that I was not having regular contractions. They monitored me for about half an hour. Sofie bopped around as she always does and everything looked super. I did have one Braxton Hicks contraction, but nothing unusual, timeable or regular. So they sent me home with instructions to take it easy and told me they'd call when they got the results back from the swab.

So we spent a few hours tensely googling preterm labor, the benefits and risks of corticosteroids (used for maturing preemie lungs) and tocolytic agents (used for delaying labor) before the phone call that fantastically assured us that the test had come back negative. It is 99% accurate at predicting that I will not go into labor within the next two weeks. So that's a relief!

We don't know why I've started to dilate. It's possible that it's just a variation that is perfectly normal for my body. They'll keep a close eye on me, probably do more of those uncomfortable exams at my upcoming appointments and possibly repeat the fetal fibronectin test in a couple of weeks. In the meantime we are relieved not to be preparing ourselves for an early delivery and wondering if our little worm has a bit of a morbid sense of humor!