When you're in true labor, your contractions last about 30 to 70 seconds and come about 5 to 10 minutes apart. They're so strong that you can't walk or talk during them. They get stronger and closer together over time. You feel pain in your belly and lower back.
Your contractions may feel like cramps in your lower stomach and can start off feeling like period pain. You may have dull lower back pain or pain in your inner thigh that you feel down your legs. At first, your contractions will be short and around 30 minutes apart.
Braxton Hicks contractions feel a little like menstrual cramps. They are felt in the front of your abdomen, but not in your back or lower part of your uterus. It's uncomfortable but not painful.
Lie down and place a hand on your uterus. If your entire uterus is hard during the cramping, it's probably a contraction. If it's hard in one place and soft in others, those are likely not contractions—it may just be the baby moving around.
Other signs labor could be near
Lightning crotch pain (sharp, burning or shooting nerve pain in your pelvis caused by your baby's position). Loose stools or diarrhea. Sudden burst of energy (which Dr. Emery says is often associated with nesting, or the strong desire to get your home ready for baby).
The standard way to describe a contraction goes like this: it differs from person to person, but in general, you feel an all-over tightening of your abdomen and pain or cramping that often begins in your lower back and radiates to the front.
If you're unsure if what you're feeling is true labor, your healthcare provider can help. They may ask for you to time your contractions or describe your pain. Other times they will ask you to come in so they can check your cervix. If there is no sign of dilation, you're probably feeling false labor.
Timing of contractions:
False labor: contractions are often irregular and do not get closer together. True labor: contractions come at regular intervals and get closer together as time goes on. (Contractions last about 30 to 70 seconds.).
In general, a real contraction will feel like a constant, lasting (60 seconds or longer) pain or pressure that starts either in your lower back (you might not feel this pain) and extend to your abdomen, resulting in low abdomen (pelvic) pressure.
Most obstetricians and midwives suggest contacting them when your contractions are five minutes apart and lasting 60 seconds and you've had this activity for about an hour.
For lots of women we surveyed, yes. The most common analogy moms used to describe the sensation of the pressure they felt during labor (even before the pushing stage) – all decorum aside – was thinking about having to poop. "After the epidural, it just felt like so much pressure.
Another tell-tale sign that you're feeling real contractions is the presence of other early signs of labour. Some of these symptoms may be obvious, but others less so. Signs that your labour is starting might include: Your waters breaking, a clear, pink or blood-streaked mucus discharge.
It is possible! I have been with many women in labour through the night and helped them fall asleep. They have continued on to have positive, healthy births and feel super proud of their efforts, albeit ready for a good sleep afterwards!
During early labor: You may feel mild contractions that come every 5 to 15 minutes and last 60 to 90 seconds. You may have a bloody show. This is a pink, red or bloody vaginal discharge.
Contractions. During early labor, you may feel mild, irregular contractions. It's helpful during this stage to stay home where you're comfortable. When you have regular, painful contractions lasting one minute each and occurring at least every five minutes for more than two hours, it's time to go to the hospital.
While there is no way to know when labor is 24 to 48 hours away, labor signs include a bloody show, Braxton Hicks contractions, labor contractions, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, lower back pain, rupture of the amniotic sac (“water breaking”), and nesting instinct.
If this is your first baby, you should go to the hospital when your contractions feel strong to you, last 45 to 60 seconds each and occur every 3 to 4 minutes for at least 2 hours. If you've had a baby before, go to the hospital when your contractions have been occurring every 5 minutes for at least 1 hour.
Spending most of your time in bed, especially lying on your back, or sitting up at a small angle, interferes with labor progress: Gravity works against you, and the baby might be more likely to settle into a posterior position. Pain might increase, especially back pain.
Labor contractions usually cause discomfort or a dull ache in your back and lower abdomen, along with pressure in the pelvis. Contractions move in a wave-like motion from the top of the uterus to the bottom. Some women describe contractions as strong menstrual cramps.
Even if your water hasn't broken, you may have had another discharge. "Bloody mucus, or change in discharge associated with contractions, increases the likelihood it's real labor and not a false alarm," Dr. Putterman says. You're feeling pelvic pressure along with the contractions.
Duration is timed from when you first feel a contraction until it is over. This time is usually measured in seconds. Frequency is timed from the start of one contraction to the start of the next. It includes the contraction as well as the rest period until the next contraction begins.