Am I in Labor?
If you are asking yourself or anyone else this question, chances are, this is your first pregnancy and your first count down to meeting your child. It's a nerve wracking time as you don't know what to expect or what it feels like and you're nervous. You may be feeling the beginnings of true labor or just stronger Braxton Hicks contractions (tightening of muscles across your stomach and pelvic area). How's a first time mother supposed to know WHAT she is feeling?
First of all, if you really think you are in labor, go to the hospital or call your midwife. Don't be worried about wasting anyones time, it's better to be safe than sorry, and you really don't want to wait until you're delivering an eager to be born child in a bathroom or a car. It doesn't happen as often as television shows portray, but it does happen. Especially if your mom or sisters had fast deliveries. Family history can be important, so talk to them.
How does one know if "it's time"?
Symptoms of early labor can be many and varied and include the following (and it can drag on for days):
A) When the baby is getting ready to be born it can "drop" its head into the top of your pelvic region. You'll know this has happened when you can suddenly breathe better but you're running to the bathroom to wee more often and suddenly you're walking like a severely bow-legged cowgirl. It can become very uncomfortable in the pelvic region with the baby's head that low (quite frankly it feels like youve got a bowling ball in there), although you may be so grateful to be able to breathe again, that it's worth the new annoyance.
B) You may find yourself running to the bathroom more often for another reason. Diarrhea. While it may not seem like it, this is a good thing. It means your body is eliminating waste to prepare for the birth.
C) You may see a "bloody show". This is where your mucus plug can slowly leave your cervix and can come out in a chunk or so slowly that you never notice it. Please note that a "bloody show" does not mean you start bleeding bright red blood. This is a sign you need to get to the hospital NOW, but is instead a slight bit of blood mixed with mucusy stuff.
D) Another sign that your body is getting ready for labor can be a slight weight loss. However at this stage most women will never notice as the last thing they want to do is get on a scale.
E) You may notice an increase in Braxton Hicks contractions. These contractions are usually felt along the front of the stomach and pelvic area and are, for lack of a better term for it, "practice contractions". While they may feel uncomfortable and seem like the "real thing", they are in reality, just another way the body is getting ready to go into true labor.
F) Your water may break. This does not mean you will experience a gush of water, although a lot of women do. It can feel like a steady stream of wee, or if the baby is low enough, just a slight leakage. Also if the bag of water breaks, it doesn't necessarily mean that the baby is going to show up in the next hour, it could be as long as 24 to 48 hours before you see your little bundle of joy. However, if you think your waters have broken, it's time to get to the hospital, or call the midwife if you're having a home birth.
G) One unproven and unscientific method of telling that the birth is on its way is called "nesting". This can be a sudden flurry of activity such as cleaning the house, scrubbing floors or in my mother's case, baking cookies. Tons of cookies.
So what does real labor feel like? Each woman will describe it in a different way. For some it will start out as a low grade back pain which become progressively stronger. For others it will be experienced as pressure in the pelvis area. Other women will also feel pain in their sides and oddly enough their thighs.
You may describe early labor as really strong menstrual cramps or even like waves of cramps that feel like strong diarrhea cramps.
Unlike Braxton Hicks contractions which will stop and start, they will get stronger and come at regular intervals. They will not ease up if you try to walk through them or change positions if you are sitting or in bed and they will last longer as well, anywhere from 30 to 70 seconds.
Warning signs:
While each woman has their own time clock on when it's time to go to the hospital or call their midwife (for some it's as soon as they feel the labor pains and for others, whenever they can no longer walk through them but find themselves stopping to "breathe through them") there are some warning signs that can present themselves which means it's time to get to the hospital NOW. These are:
a) Bright red blood
b) Less than ten movements from the baby in two hours or less
c) The waters breaking
d) Strong contractions every 5 minutes or less for an hour
3) Strong contractions that you can no longer walk through
Every woman will experience their labor differently, however there will come a time that "you KNOW" absolutely and without a doubt that you are in labor and the time is fast approaching to meeting the little person who has made your previous nine months a new and exciting experience, that there is no going back or stopping it. This is a scary and exhilarating time, relax as much as you can and know that it will be over soon.