How to understand that labor has begun: important signs

Anticipating your baby’s arrival can be exhilarating and daunting, particularly if you’re not sure what to look for when your labor starts. Although each woman’s body is unique, there are a few telltale signs that can help you determine whether labor has started.

You may go through new or unexpected changes in the last few weeks of your pregnancy. These symptoms can be mild or more obvious, leaving you to wonder if you should visit the hospital.

Being aware of the early signs of labor can help you feel more at ease and ready for what’s to come. Here are some crucial indicators to be aware of as your body prepares for the big event.

How to determine the approach of?

One of nature’s greatest secrets is your birthdate. No one will reveal the precise day when the baby decides to be born, even though obstetricians provide the EDD (estimated date of birth) on the exchange card. The birth rate is only 5% on the exact due date. The others all select different dates for themselves, either ahead of or even beyond the allotted time. Because of this, expectant mothers experience intense anxiety about missing or mistaking the onset of labor for other sensations, which are abundant during the most challenging third trimester.

A pregnant woman’s own body is her greatest helper and guide. It typically begins to give "hints" that labor is about to begin.

Officially, the prenatal stage begins at 38 full obstetric weeks. It is from this period that you need to listen as attentively and reverently as possible to changes in your own condition. The child is already mature enough, it is ready to be born any day. Usually, even in those women who did not have training contractions during the period of bearing a baby, they start at 38 weeks. They manifest themselves as short-term spontaneous tension of the uterine muscles, which recede rather quickly, do not have a fixed interval between them. This means that after one training contraction, another can occur in half an hour, and in three hours, and only on the next day. Labor contractions are cyclical and always repeat in time with a certain interval, characteristic of a certain period of labor.

On average, the signs of impending childbirth also manifest after 38 weeks. Here, the expectant mother needs to pay close attention because some early symptoms may resemble pregnancy-related issues. For instance, it is simple to overlook amniotic fluid leakage due to the increase in vaginal discharge, and a yellowish jelly-like discharge from a vaginal infection can be mistaken for the start of the mucus plug separation.

Irreversibility is a characteristic that sets the labor process apart from other preparatory "events." As labor is purely reflexive, once it starts, it cannot be stopped, slowed down, or weakened. Using drugs and other means, a woman can manipulate the harbingers and alter their nature.

When it begins?

Childbirth is the logical conclusion of complex and multi-stage processes that occur in the female body on the eve of the birth of a child. Each of these processes is closely related to others. The answer to the question of when labor will begin is one – when all internal processes reach their maximum development. The uterus becomes large. The female reproductive organ gains weight and reaches a solid size. The neuromuscular apparatus of the uterus begins to prepare for the upcoming labor contractions a few weeks before labor. The cells of the myometrium (structural tissue of the uterus) begin to produce a substance that will help the tissues contract – actomyosin. At 38 weeks and a little later, the uterine tissues get rid of excess nerve fibers. This is a natural physiological mechanism of pain relief.

The placenta should be fully mature by the time labor begins. A week before the onset of labor, it begins to produce oxytocin. The pituitary gland helps it in this. The proper concentration of this hormone in the female body leads to the onset of contractions. The hormonal factor is crucial – in order for labor to begin, the progesterone level must decrease. This hormone was responsible for maintaining pregnancy for all nine months, for creating optimal conditions for fetal development. It is no longer needed by the time of birth, and progesterone decreases in proportion to the growth of estrogens and oxytocin. Before childbirth, glycogen, ATP, phosphorus compounds and electrolytes begin to accumulate in the woman"s body. They make the uterus more resilient to upcoming contractions and generally increase the energy potential of the expectant mother. One of the important factors that has a direct effect on the timing of labor is the state of the nervous system. If there are any problems with it, the preparation of the uterus for childbirth slows down, the hormonal balance changes, which can cause both premature birth and post-term pregnancy.

Harbingers – myths and reality

The so-called "harbingers," or the first signs that together allow us to predict the approach of imminent labor, can alert a woman to the impending labor. There is no universal set of symptoms that apply to all women; rather, the "harbingers" are specific physical traits unique to each female. The following are the most typical symptoms.

Abdominal prolapse

The pregnant woman’s abdomen visually changes, shifting downward. This is because of how the fetal head is positioned in relation to the internal os, or the uterine cavity’s exit. A woman is able to detect her own drop in the stomach. The woman no longer experiences excruciating heartburn because the uterus no longer supports her stomach, and breathing becomes much easier because the bottom of the uterus no longer presses against her diaphragm. However, as the strain on the intestines and bladder increases, the woman’s need to urinate grows stronger and more frequent, uncontrollably leaking pee may occur when she laughs or coughs, and constipation also worsens.

In primiparous women, abdominal prolapse typically happens three to four weeks prior to delivery. When a woman gives birth for the second time, the symptoms usually manifest one to four days prior to the start of labor, though occasionally they manifest just hours or even days before the first contractions.

Change in gait, pain in the pelvis

The pelvic bones and muscles experience increased strain after the baby assumes the "pre-start position" inside the uterus. As a result, the woman starts to "waddle" more when walking, making her gait unnatural. Weak pains that pull and hurt are present in the ligaments and pelvic bones. The pubic symphysis area becomes more painful if symphysitis has already started.

Generally speaking, a woman may feel uncomfortable when climbing stairs, having to stand for extended periods of time, or getting out of bed from a laying position.

Discharge

Vaginal discharge changes quantitatively and qualitatively. They become more abundant, liquefy, since the concentration of progesterone decreases every day. Discharge should be monitored especially closely – if jelly-like impurities appear in them, this may mean the beginning of the discharge of the mucous plug. During pregnancy, the plug closes the cervical canal located in the cervix so that bacteria and viruses do not penetrate into the uterine cavity, so that the environment in the uterus remains sterile. The plug can come out in parts or come out all at once. For first-time mothers, this can happen two weeks before the birth, for women giving birth again, the plug comes out a few days before the onset of labor contractions, already during them, or when the waters break.

Weight loss

A woman starts to shed pounds prior to giving birth. People have been observing this sign for a while now. An unexpected couple of kilogram "weight loss" is linked to a reduction in intercellular fluid content. A drop in progesterone levels also triggers the start of this process. Furthermore, the woman’s body starts to purify itself, which is why diarrhea frequently starts a few days prior to delivery.

Baby behavior

Babies stop moving actively and become quiet four to five days before giving birth in the vast majority of cases. The child stores energy as well because giving birth will demand a lot of work on his part. Furthermore, the baby’s growth has already made the uterus too small for him, making it difficult for him to move around inside of it.

It’s critical to keep track of periods of decreased activity at this point. It is imperative that you see a doctor if there is no movement at all for a full 12-hour period.

"Nesting"

The animal instinct to set up a "nest"—a home—before offspring appear in it is reflected in the "nesting" syndrome. Many animals, including birds, do this. This is demonstrated by the woman’s natural tendency to clean, organize everything, and then rearrange the kids’ belongings in the ready-made kids’ room. Pregnant women are said to benefit psychologically from the instinct, which helps her deal with melancholy thoughts and fears related to childbirth. It is not a necessary sign, nor does it appear in everyone.

Ripening of the cervix

This is an objective sign, which is regarded by doctors as almost the only reliable. The cervix during pregnancy is normally tightly closed. By the time of birth, it begins to become shorter, the round muscle softens – this is important so that the cervix opens with the onset of the labor process and releases the baby. The condition of the cervix can be assessed as early as the 38th week of pregnancy. Only an obstetrician-gynecologist can do this during a routine appointment; a woman cannot examine the cervix on her own. The cervix is ​​sensitive to hormonal influences, and therefore, if there is a hormonal imbalance or a number of other factors, a woman may hear the doctor’s verdict that her cervix is ​​immature. In this case, after the 39th week, they will carry out medicinal maturation – they will influence the woman’s body with hormonal and other drugs that will help the cervix become shorter and softer. Normally, before childbirth, the cervix shortens to 1-1.5 centimeters. In this case, they say that the cervix is ​​mature and childbirth is already on the way.

Other signs and symptoms

Pregnant women have long recognized a wide range of symptoms as warning signs, such as insomnia, increased sleepiness, eating disorders (excessive or lack thereof), nausea, and even vomiting a few days prior to labor, as well as heightened anxiety, irritability, touchiness, and tearfulness.

It should be mentioned that many myths that have nothing to do with medicine surround the harbingers of labor. Consequently, it is best to speak with your doctor rather than attributing any change in your health and state to symptoms that someone posted on a forum. He alone is able to differentiate a pathology in time from a harbinger.

Symptoms of the onset of labor

There are only two surefire indicators that labor has started, despite the multitude of symptoms that may accompany the final few weeks of pregnancy: the start of contractions and the release of water. The woman and the physician will be able to accurately determine that labor has started thanks to them. The rest of the symptoms and prophetic signs are essentially useless for diagnosis. It’s now appropriate to go into further detail regarding the two trustworthy indicators of the start of labor.

Contractions

True labor contractions start as soon as the necessary conditions—nervous, hormonal, humoral, and physiological—are met. These are uterine fiber contractions that are rhythmic, have a distinct pattern, are periodic, and do not develop in reverse. This characteristic will aid in differentiating between genuine and fake contractions, which can be practiced in the final weeks leading up to the baby’s birth as a way to train the female body.

It is highly probable that labor has started if the contractions do not stop after taking a No-Shpa tablet, taking a warm shower, or if they do not intensify when the mother repositions her body.

The first contractions are not painful. It is only in films that they show women who, with a groan, unexpectedly "fold" in half when labor begins. The first uterine contractions are quite painless and feel like menstrual pain. Most often, the first contractions are repeated at intervals of once every 30-40 minutes. Each contraction lasts a few seconds – usually no more than 20. After it, the woman has enough time to rest, which should be used as much as possible for relaxation, so that muscle clamps do not occur. With such contractions, there is no need to go to the maternity hospital, the woman can stay at home until the contractions begin to recur more often. With an interval of 5-10 minutes between contractions, you need to call an ambulance and go to the maternity hospital. The first contractions are called latent, they can last 8-10 hours, the opening of the cervix by the end of the period will be only 3 centimeters.

The second period of contractions is called active. The contractions are stronger, more frequent – by the end of this stage they are repeated every 2-3 minutes, the duration of each contraction is up to 50 seconds. The opening of the cervix is ​​up to 7 centimeters. It is advisable to spend this period under the supervision of doctors, since the birth of the baby is already inevitably approaching. Active contractions are usually observed for 3-5 hours. The third period of contractions will last only half an hour to an hour or a little more. These contractions are called transitional, they flow into pushing, which a woman will know by the acute desire to empty the intestines – the cervix is ​​fully open, the head begins to be born. Transitional contractions are the strongest and longest. They are repeated every 1-1.5 minutes and last for a minute.

An old obstetric joke states that a woman who doubts whether labor has started is not actually giving birth. This is meant to reassure anyone who is unsure about their ability to recognize true labor contractions when labor starts. A woman has no doubts when she gives birth. It is extremely difficult to mistake genuine contractions for other types of uterine contractions because they are so distinct from one another.

Waters

It should be noted that labor that begins with contractions is classic, normal and healthy. This is how up to 90% of all births on the planet begin, since physiologically this is the best option. The waters only break in the second stage – during active contractions, when the dilation reaches 4-6 centimeters. Under the pressure of the fetal head, the fetal bladder bursts and the amniotic fluid is released. But in 10% of cases, labor begins with the waters breaking. They may well leak in small portions, or they may break away immediately in full. In such a case, labor is almost always considered complicated. If contractions do not develop on their own after 6 hours, the woman undergoes drug induction of labor. If it does not help, then an emergency cesarean section is performed.

Amniosystems are special tests that can help distinguish between water leakage and urine. They are available in pharmacies and every antenatal clinic. A woman can go there with a suspected leak and get an expedited evaluation of the composition of the discharge. You should be aware of any signs of leakage, such as an increase in vaginal discharge, especially if the woman spends several hours in a horizontal position before sitting or standing up. There could be wet patches on the bed linens.

A woman has to attend to a sudden outpouring of water. It is important to determine the approximate volume, color, smell, and consistency of amniotic fluid right away rather than becoming alarmed. In this instance, waiting for contractions to start at home is not required. You should visit the maternity hospital right away if there is a leak or if the water has broken. A physician should be in charge of the anhydrous phase.

It is crucial that you notify the doctor if the water breaks that is not transparent, but rather greenish, contains blood, or exhibits other unusual colors. This frequently indicates fetal hypoxia and calls for an immediate cesarean section rather than waiting for contractions to start and labor to be induced.

During the first and repeated pregnancy

Precursors show up ahead of time in primiparous women, but they show up right before childbirth in women who give birth again. In the second scenario, the time interval is extremely brief—it may be as little as a few days or even hours. And the actual birth starts in a different way. Those who have had multiple births typically view the world more calmly, have had childbirth experience, and as a result, do not exhibit elevated emotionality in the run-up to childbirth or misinterpret certain symptoms for true labor symptoms. The majority of women who are about to give birth for the first time are feeling more suspicious.

As a result, first-time mothers typically detect the start of labor earlier, whereas multiparous women just disregard many of the indicators. The first birth is characterized by a greater degree of sensory expression and a longer total duration of each stage.

When the woman experiences three or more "harbingers" at the same time, she should seek medical advice. If the woman is expecting a second, third, or more child, she should arrive at the maternity hospital earlier. Contractions repeat every ten minutes. These women have better-prepared birth canals, faster uterine opening of the internal and external orifices, and a greater chance of a swift delivery.

It is essential for expectant mothers to know when labor actually starts. Lower back pain, regular, progressively stronger contractions, and the water breaking are important indicators. Some women may also feel an unexpected surge of energy or a "nesting" instinct. To make sure you’re ready for delivery, it’s critical to keep an eye out for these signals and get in touch with your healthcare provider as soon as you notice them.

After stimulation

In the event that the decision is made to induce labor for medical reasons, labor will already be starting under medical supervision. A wide range of medical procedures are involved in inducing labor, including cervix preparation, amniotomy (bladder puncture and amniotic fluid drainage), and oxytocin dosages to stimulate contractions. Within three to four hours of a bladder puncture, contractions usually start. Medication is used to induce labor if this does not occur. A cesarean section is performed if there is no improvement.

Premature

Labor does not always happen on schedule, as was previously mentioned. While there may not be any obvious precursors, a woman can experience a range of symptoms that indicate the onset of premature labor. Any labor that starts between the 28th and the 37th week of pregnancy is regarded as premature labor. Doctors typically identify the risk factors for early labor, let expectant mothers know about them, and always recommend hospitalization and close observation. Premature births can sometimes start abruptly and come as an unpleasant "surprise" to both the laboring woman and the physician who treated her during her pregnancy.

• an annoying feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen;
• the abdomen drops before the 35th week of pregnancy;
• the uterus often becomes toned and remains tense for a long time;
• pink, bloody or bloody discharge from the genitals appears;
• the woman feels strong pressure in the perineum and pelvis;
• girdle-like cramping pains appear.

Given the numerous risks associated with premature birth, a woman should see a doctor if any one of the aforementioned symptoms materializes and should accept hospitalization if doctors recommend it. If you notice a bloody discharge, you need to call an ambulance right away.

Sign	Description
Regular contractions	Contractions become stronger, more frequent, and follow a consistent pattern.
Water breaks	A sudden gush or steady trickle of fluid signals the rupture of the amniotic sac.
Lower back pain	A persistent ache in the lower back, often accompanied by cramps.
Cervical dilation	The cervix begins to open up in preparation for delivery.
Nesting instinct	A sudden burst of energy and urge to prepare for the baby may occur just before labor.

Although it can be overwhelming to recognize the early signs of labor, being aware of what to look for reduces the stress associated with the process. If you experience any changes in your body, such as regular contractions, a pressure-like feeling, or your water breaking, pay attention to it and follow your instincts.

Since every woman’s labor experience is unique, it’s critical to communicate with your healthcare provider frequently. They are able to advise you on what is typical and when to visit a hospital or birthing center.

Above all, make an effort to remain composed and concentrated. You’ll be more equipped to handle this thrilling time and welcome your baby into the world once you know the warning signs.

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