I guess my only other question would be - do I call ahead to L&D or just show up? I don't know what it's like at other hospitals but at ours, it's a lockdown unit and you have to talk to the nurse over the intercom outside the door to be let in. Do I just stand there and go "Well this, this and this is going on & I was wondering if I could be checked?" Or do I go to the ER and play dumb and call up from there so they know I'm already there? Or do I phone ahead and get the "okay" to come in?

I would just show up. I don't call ours when I go in. They told me they can't give medical advice over the phone anyways and if u call the they may brush you off

Ours is locked down too and I would just say you are having bleeding and pain and not full term yet.

So that was a pointless trip to L&D.

They put me on the monitors for 20 minutes or so and checked my cervix before sending me on my way. No change in my cervix but I was definitely contracting, the monitor was picking it up and it was happening when I wasn't feeling LO move. I would feel it tightening and OH would watch it appear on the monitor. The nurse was saying that either I was breathing too heavily or LO was moving causing it to register. And since it wasn't affecting my cervix, I was good to go and to take 2 Tylenol.

I just wish she'd have acknowledged that they were contractions and not made it seem like I was making it up. Even if it didn't mean anything. LO's heart rate was all over the place. She's usually between 140 and 160 but several times it registered at 192-197. I didn't feel her moving about most of those times either which is what the nurse said caused the jumps. Apparently I'm just another paranoid, crazy pregnant lady. Oh well. At least it didn't change my cervix but ugh, it's so uncomfortable and Tylenol/heat have not been helping.

Well I'm glad you went but the explanation sounds a bit rude of the nurse. Like shouldn't they have checked the baby thru u/s to see if she was ok because of the jump in heart rate? That's dumb to blame it on your breathing what the hell

When the doc came in to do her internal, she asked about the info on the monitor because the heart rate was higher at that time and there were contractions all over the monitor. Some from her moving but they gave me a little button to push whenever I felt her move, and I did... it put a little mark where I would feel her movement. Anyway, the doc asked about it all the nurse was just like "Oh, she was probably just moving or the baby was moving." When she was telling me I could go (didn't take the monitors off, I had to remove them myself) I asked about the contractions because it was the same I felt while in labor with my first, they were getting stronger and more uncomfortable, etc and she just said "You're not in labor, you may have just been breathing heavy or moving around."

So if it keeps up over the next few days, I'm going to call back. I've never had such hatred toward a nurse before haha.

Yeah I've been hooked up to an nst twice before. She seems a bit rude and snarky wow I'm sorry you were treated so bad. And I think you know your body more then she does! Just try to take it easy and put your feet up as much as possible

There is no evidence that suggests that early exams can start labor...unless the waters are broken, which is almost impossible to do. Also, in the US, around 35 weeks they test for Strep B, so they need to mess around a little down there at the time. I'm just sticking up for US midwives, Drs, and our medical practice.