Pregnancy Paranoia

One of the most frustrating things I've encountered with this pregnancy is the total overload of information that comes from the internet.  I don't just mean Googling stuff -- even the emails I receive from well-known sites like BabyCenter and What To Expect are sometimes totally unhelpful!  And it's not just the internet, either.  Even the information that comes from my OB's office sometimes contradicts other information I've gotten from them.  Back in April I posted about the conflicting nutrition info I received from them (click HERE to read that post).  

Now it's not so much conflicting information that I'm getting via the internet and the OB's office, but very vague information and way too much of it!  It is not helpful when just about everything could potentially be a symptom or sign of something.  Take pre-term labor for example.  On Monday (8/4) at my OB appointment, the Physician's Assistant I saw wanted to talk to me about signs of pre-term labor since I was nearing the 25 week mark.  She said there are many symptoms to watch out for, including but not limited to: cramping, spotting, leaking fluid, increased discharge, pelvic pain and contractions.  

Sounds scary and pretty self-explanatory, right? Well... you may or may not be surprised to find out that nearly ALL of those (with the exception of spotting and leaking amniotic fluid) are symptoms of another thing: pregnancy.  Yes, cramping, increased discharge (sorry, gross), pelvic pain, and painless contractions happen in NORMAL PREGNANCY.  If you have more than 4 contractions in an hour's time then something might be wrong, but I've had Braxton-Hicks contractions randomly for over a month and a half now!

Don't worry - should any of those symptoms pop up for me I'll be sure to call the OB.  But.. it frustrates me because vague information like that makes it very hard not to panic over every little thing!  This whole thing is stressful enough without worrying obsessively over every single weird function the body performs during pregnancy.  My cousin last night, when I texted her, chalked it up to this: "if you're not bleeding or contracting, you're fine."  Regardless, I've spent the better part of the last day periodically palpating my belly to make sure I'm not, in fact, having contractions.  (I'm not.)  

Anyway!  Mara seems fine.  She was actually much more active yesterday than usual, and I would like to think that if something was wrong she would be less active, not more.  But what do I know?  If I'm worried, I'll call the OB.  Better safe than sorry anyway.