Signs that labor is imminent are a bit of a moving target. Some women feel the type of cramps that usually happen with menstruation. They may come and go over hours or even a couple of days.
You may start to feel pressure in your vagina or pelvis. Some women notice a change in their vaginal discharge, which may signal the passing of their mucus plug. It helps protect the baby from unhealthy bacteria outside of the uterus.
As the cervix starts opening in preparation for labor, you may lose the mucus plug also called bloody show in one blob or gradually. But now we know that bloody show can be nonspecific.
Also called lightening, baby dropping is a sign that a baby is nearly ready to be born. Before dropping, the baby may rotate, so the back of its head is toward the front of the tummy, head facing down. Then, the baby may drop down into the pelvis. When the baby has settled in the pelvis, doctors describe it as engaged. This means it is ready for birth. Precisely when it happens is different for every woman.
There is no set day or week that women should expect their baby to drop. For some women, baby dropping happens just as labor starts or a few hours before.
For other women, it may happen a few weeks before labor begins. Baby dropping might happen closer to labor for women who have had babies before.
This is because their body has been through labor before, so their pelvis may need less time to adjust to the process. Women who are pregnant for the first time may find that baby dropping occurs some days or weeks before labor.
This may be because their pelvic muscles need to adjust to the birthing position before labor can begin. If a woman thinks her baby has dropped, she should speak to a doctor. The doctor can check the position of the baby, which helps them estimate when labor may begin. Some women may feel baby dropping as a sudden, noticeable movement. Others may not notice it happening at all. Some women may notice that their abdomen feels lighter after the baby has dropped.
This might be because the baby is positioned lower in the pelvis, leaving more room in her middle. Lightening may seem an inappropriate term for some. Baby dropping sometimes makes women feel like they are carrying a bowling ball between their legs. When the baby drops, some women may experience flashes of pelvic pain. Get the BabyCentre app.
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The BabyCentre Bulletin Get the latest parenting news, plus expert advice and real-world wisdom. If your labor doesn't begin within a specific time period, your physician may want to bring on induce labor. How long your health practitioner is comfortable waiting before inducing will depend on your individual situation. Be sure to tell your health care team if your "water" isn't clear. If your amniotic fluid is greenish in color or smells bad, it could signal either an infection or meconium essentially baby feces , either of which could cause problems for your baby.
Also, if you're leaking liquid but aren't sure whether it's amniotic fluid or urine some pregnant women leak urine at the tail end of their pregnancies , you should have it checked by your health practitioner so you know what you're dealing with. Contractions are strong, rhythmic, regular cramps that feel like a bad backache or extreme menstrual pain. These little doozies, if they're the real thing, are the most reliable of all the signs and officially mark the onset of labor.
A contraction occurs when your uterus tightens and then relaxes. Real contractions usually start in the back of your body and move toward the front. These movements open the cervix and help push the baby into the birth canal. True contractions come closer and closer together in a predictable pattern and last around 30 to 70 seconds each. They get steadily stronger and keep coming, regardless of what you do.
You and your health practitioner should come up with a game plan ahead of time about when you should call and what you should do if you suspect you're in labor.
Most practitioners will probably tell you to call when you have contractions that last for around one minute and occur every five minutes for about an hour, but this could vary greatly depending on your health history and past pregnancy record. Women who have given birth before may have a quicker labor the second or third time around, so it's important not to wait too long to call if you think things might go quickly. Be sure to discuss this with your doctor or midwife.
To time the frequency of contractions, start at the beginning of one and count until the beginning of the next one. When in doubt, call your practitioner. Even if you're not sure if your signs add up to the beginning of labor, it doesn't hurt to check in. Your doctor or midwife can give you concrete advice and help you determine if this is the moment you've been waiting for.
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