How to Know if You Are in Labor

The onset of labor varies from woman to woman, but there are some clear markers that will let you know the time has come.

Things You'll Need

  • Clocks
  • Pencils
  • Notebooks
  • Stopwatches

Instructions

    • 1

      Recognize "lightening" - when your baby drops into the pelvis - usually two or three weeks before delivery in first-time moms; in later births, babies don't usually drop until labor begins.

    • 2

      Learn to identify the rehearsal or Braxton-Hicks contractions that women experience starting in the second trimester. Despite this strange feeling - these irregular contractions do not mark labor's onset.

    • 3

      Realize that the loss of your mucus plug (also called a bloody show) does not mean labor is imminent; this can happen as much as two or three weeks before you give birth.

    • 4

      Know that your water breaking does not necessarily signal the beginning of labor (though if labor does not begin in 24 hours, most doctors will give you hormones to kick start contractions).

    • 5

      Time your contractions for a half hour. If they are coming closer and closer together and each one lasts more than 40 seconds, then when they repeatedly occur less than five minutes apart, you're in labor.

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