Labor usually begins somewhere between the 37th and 42nd weeks of pregnancy, doctors are not really sure as to what causes labor to start, they think it may have to do with the changing hormones of the expectant mother and baby, the expansion of the uterus, or it could possible be due to the baby dropping down into the pelvis. There are a number of other speculations, but these are the ones that doctors are the most certain are the true cause of triggering labor to begin. When does labor starts there are two main things that will signal the beginning of your labor, contractions and the breaking of your bag of water.
Contractions are basically the tightening of your uterus, which is like a big muscle, the tightening helps your cervix to dilate. The top of your uterus will begin to tighten, followed by the rest of your uterus. You might feel contractions in different places like your abdomen, lower back, and pelvis. If you’re not sure what to expect the contractions to feel like in the different areas, we can only give you an idea of what to expect since every woman is different in their pain tolerance level.
Contractions that you feel in your abdomen may feel like a big hard ball in your stomach and you may feel tightness. Contractions in your lower back may feel more like an intermittent backache. Contractions in your pelvis might feel like a lot of pressure, almost like the baby is going to drop down out of you. True labor contractions can often be confused with Braxton-Hicks Contractions; these are different, lasting on average only thirty seconds and do not aid in the delivery of the baby. You know you are really in labor when your contractions get longer and stronger over time and get closer and closer together.
The second sign of labor is the breaking of your bag of waters; it’s also often called rupture of membranes. When your water breaks it may not always be noticeable, you could feel a trickle or a sudden rush of fluid, it also depends on what your position is, if you are lying down you may be more apt to feel a rush of fluid then if you were standing up, this is due to gravity and the fact that your baby’s head acts as sort of a plug to the area where your water broke when you are in a standing position. If your water does break, you need to call your doctor right away, they want to know when your water breaks because once it breaks there is a time limit they are against, the longer you go without some kind of treatment or delivering the more chance there is of you or the baby contracting an infection.
When you call your doctor to let them know that your water has indeed broken, there are some things that you need to let them know. Your doctor will ask you the color of the fluid, what is the odor of the fluid, what is the amount, and what time did you notice the fluid. There is a simple anagram that you can memorize to help you remember what things the doctor will ask you when you call to let them know, just remember COAT, Color, Odor, Amount, and Time. These are important things for the doctor to know. They need to know the color because amniotic fluid is normally clear or straw color, if the fluid you are leaking is green or has specks of green it means that your baby has or is passing his or her first stool or meconium, and since your baby is still “breathing” that amniotic fluid it creates a serious problem. The doctor needs to know the odor the fluid because it normally is odorless, if there is any type of odor, especially a foul odor; it is a signal of a problem. The amount is also an important thing for the doctor to know, while the baby will never be without any amniotic fluid until he or she is born, the doctor does need to know so that they can proceed as normal. Time is also important, again because they only have a certain amount of time before the risk of infection becomes too great for both you and the baby.
Also, when you begin to feel your contractions, start timing them. To time your contractions you will need to know how to figure how long they are and how far apart they are. To time how long they last you will begin timing from the start of the contraction or from the point you begin to feel the pain, to the time that the pain subsides. Now to time how far apart they are, you will need to start timing from the point that one contraction begins to the point where the next contraction begins. If your contractions are irregular at the beginning, don’t worry, it just means that your labor has just started and your body is getting itself into a pattern. Try counting your contractions for an hour. When your contractions start to get more regular, you can start counting your contractions every 20 to 30 minutes.
