How many weeks are you? I'd definitely try contacting your doctor to be 100% if your not close to your due date.. They can monitor you and try to stop contractions from getting worse if they're notified soon enough so you don't have your little one too early.
They're probably just preterm contractions I was in the hospital for 6 hours but they won't keep you if you're not dilated nor if they're super close together. Keep your bladder empty as much as possible, lay on left side and stay extremely hydrated should help
Not unless they're 3-5 minutes apart or your waters have broken. They would probably send you home otherwise.