When I was due with my second child, I had 4 + weeks of prodromal labor (not that I knew what it was at the time;
I called it false labor because I'd never heard of prodromal labor).
They are
called false labor contractions or practice contractions sometimes.
These irregular contractions are
called false labor or Braxton Hicks contractions.
Most mothers who have experienced prodromal labor would probably say that
calling it false labor is misleading.
Not exact matches
And
false labor contractions can be even more disconcerting because, in addition to everything else, you might be constantly wondering if it's time to
call the babysitter.
If contractions are not regular but more sporadic, these are probably
false labor, or what the medical people
call Braxton - Hicks contractions.