What Are The Signs Of Labor?

October 30, 2023

Childbirth is an exciting, happy, and nerve-wracking event. You're finally getting to welcome your baby into the world. Most pregnant women want to know what to expect from labor, and they make plans with their doctors regarding their baby's birth and the process of labor. It's important to know what to expect, and it's equally important to know the signs of labor. Every birth is different, but there are a few hallmark notes to watch out for. Labor occurs when your uterus begins to contract, allowing you to deliver your baby. It's important to recognize when you've gone into labor so you can get to the hospital or follow whatever birth plan you've laid out with your doctor. These are some of the key signs of labor.

Contractions

The biggest sign of labor is experiencing strong and ongoing contractions, which occur when your uterus contracts as your body works to deliver the baby. With that said, not all contractions are related to labor. You should know about the key differences between false labor and true labor to make sure you're aware of when it's the real thing. You aren't in true labor until the regular contractions are accompanied by a change in your cervix. The cervix dilates when you're in labor, allowing your uterus to push the baby out through the contractions. During a contraction, your uterus muscles will tighten like a clenching fist, and then they'll relax. True labor occurs when contractions last for periods ranging from thirty to seventy seconds and are spaced around five to ten minutes from each other. During the contractions, the pain and tension are so strong many women aren't able to talk or walk. As time goes on, the contractions become progressively stronger and closer together. Contractions more than ten minutes apart may indicate pre-labor, but not yet true labor. Uncover another sign of labor now.

Water Breaks

Another key sign of labor is when your water breaks. If you have contractions combined with water breaking, it's time to go to the hospital. Your water breaks when the baby is ready to be delivered. Inside the uterus is a bag of amniotic fluid, inside which a baby develops. When the baby is ready to be born, this sac breaks, and the water will exit your body. For some women, it feels like a sudden and large rush, but for others, the flow only feels like a trickle. If you're not sure whether your water has broken, call your healthcare provider right away. It's important to note you don't have to wait for your water to break to be in true labor. Your cervix can dilate even before your water has broken. In fact, it's more common for your water to break in the middle of labor than before you go to the hospital. Read more about the different signs of labor now.

Pelvic Pressure

Pelvic pressure is a sensation not talked about often, but it's an important sign of labor. This sensation tends to happen after the cervix has dilated enough for the baby to begin moving. As your baby descends from the uterus into your pelvis, it's common to feel an increase in the pressure in that area. There might be pressure in your hips and vagina. For the majority of women having their first child, sensations of pelvic pressure only occur right before or during labor. However, women who have given birth before might experience this type of pressure earlier in their pregnancy, even if they're not in labor. If you're experiencing pelvic pressure alongside contractions, it's a very tangible sign of labor. The same is true if the pressure occurs after your water has broken. If you feel pelvic pressure but are certain you aren't in labor, call your healthcare provider. Get more details about the different indicators of labor now.

Back Pain

Back pain is a fairly common part of pregnancy. You can expect to experience some pain in your back due to the way your body is changing and becoming heavier. But about twenty-five percent of women experience a labor-related pain called back labor. Understanding how to manage back labor is important, because you'll need to if you're one of the not-so-lucky one-in-four. If you're surprised by back labor, your overall experience will become more challenging. Back labor refers to the discomfort and pain some women feel in their lower back while giving birth. This pain is related to the contracting of the uterus. Your uterus causes both regular contractions and contractions in your back. Women who experience back labor are usually having babies in a 'sunny side up' position, where the head is near your cervix, but your baby is facing the stomach instead of the back. This means the back of your baby's head is pushing down on your tailbone and spine, which compresses the nerves and leads to moderate to intense pain. Keep reading to learn more about the significant signs of labor now.

Mucus Discharge

Another hallmark sign of labor is mucus discharge. Throughout the pregnancy, your cervix will become plugged by mucus. As the cervix opens wider to allow the baby to be delivered, the plug becomes dislodged and discharged into your vagina. The appearance ranges from case to case, though the discharge will typically be pink, clear, or a little bloody. Some blood in the discharge is normal and not cause for alarm. One thing to note is the mucus will sometimes be discharged even when the woman is not in true labor yet. While it most often accompanies the opening of the cervix, some women may experience discharge one to two weeks before discharging the plug. If you've experienced mucus discharge, call your healthcare provider. When combined with other signs of labor, this is a good reason to head to the emergency room.

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Baby Drops

One key sign the body is preparing to go into labor is the feeling the baby has dropped. Not only will women feel this in their belly, but there will be such a physical shift that it may be noticeable to others as well. The woman's stomach will look like it's lower. Baby dropping is also called 'lightening.' This phenomenon occurs when the unborn baby goes through a literal 'drop' from the belly into the pelvis. The baby is then engaged with the pubic bones rather than nesting above everything. As soon as the baby drops, it's a sign it's time for the baby to exit the womb. This isn't always a sign labor is immediately around the corner though. Some women even experience this several weeks before the actual beginning of labor. For others, though, the dropping happens just hours before the start of labor. Some women also don't feel the drop until after other signs of labor start.

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Loose Joints

One of the more unusual signs of labor that's rarely talked about is a loosening of the joints. Before a woman's body begins to deliver the baby, she'll notice a relaxing and loosening of her joints. This is because of a hormonal reaction happening in the body. A substance called relaxin softens the ligaments, which allows the pelvis to open and be ready for the birth of a baby. Without this effect, birth would be a lot more painful and borderline impossible. Relaxin is produced in combination by the placenta and ovaries. It only appears during pregnancy and has vital effects on the reproductive system. As women get ready to have a baby, relaxin will soften and widen their cervix as well as relax their pelvic ligaments. Relaxin is secreted throughout the pregnancy, not just at the end of it. In fact, the hormone tends to reach its peak during the first trimester. As women get closer to labor, the hormone will help the membranes surrounding the baby to rupture.

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Diarrhea

Another sign of labor that isn't often talked about, in part because it tends to be unpleasant, is diarrhea. Many women experience diarrhea and loose stools shortly before their labor begins in earnest. When this is the case, the cause of the intestinal upset is the release of prostaglandins. These hormones may enter the body shortly before labor begins, often in the twenty-four to forty-eight-hour period before their water breaks. In addition to being a side effect of prostaglandin release, diarrhea might also be an evolutionary mechanism to protect the mother and her baby. It's a way of emptying the bowels before real labor. The less matter a woman has in her body, the easier it will be for her uterus to go through efficient contractions. Prostaglandins are responsible for dealing with illness and injury. They are typically created at places where there's noticeable tissue damage or infection. The substances will control inflammation levels, the formation of clots in the body, and blood flow. They also control the induction of labor.

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Urge To Nest

One of the most common and strange-seeming instincts during pregnancy is the urge to nest. No, this doesn't mean crafting a house out of sticks. Human nesting doesn't always look similar to birds nesting. But it does come from the same innate instinct to build a home for the young. Pregnant women often report waking up energized and determined to organize and clean the whole house. This organizational drive is referred to as nesting because it relates to the instinct to prepare the home for the baby. The instinct is at its strongest in the final weeks of pregnancy, and it tends to get more intense the closer a pregnant woman gets to her delivery date. One common misconception is that labor is imminent immediately after nesting instincts develop. But there's no guarantee a woman will go into labor for weeks. Not every pregnant woman experiences an urge to nest. Women might also have intensified nesting desires if their baby is due in the late spring or early summer. The urge to clean and organize tends to be stronger in the spring, possibly due to the increased energy from lengthening days.

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Dilation

During the earliest stage of labor, women will experience contractions that let the cervix become thinner and start to open. This process is called dilation and effacement. The further the cervix dilates, the closer women are to going into active labor. Doctors will take measurements over time. Dilation tends to last for several hours, with the average woman experiencing pre-labor pains for around twelve to thirteen hours for their first child. When women have a second child or subsequent children, the time frame tends to shorten to between seven and eight hours. Early labor has begun when the cervix reaches an opening of four centimeters. By the time a woman is ready for active labor, her cervix will open to a distance closer to ten centimeters. Most women spend early labor at home. It's important to relax and rest, but pregnant women should try to keep up with their normal activities.

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