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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.

Learn more about this author, Kate McGee.
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