The Truth About Labour

This is what the last 9 months have all been about - geting your body ready for labour and birth (and growing your little miracle of course) So how do you know if this is the real thing? Well there are few tell-tale signs that you should know about.

My first reaction when I realized that the pain I was experiencing was actually labour was "Oh my god, I'm not ready!" and a wave of panic hit me! But of course I was ready. I was 38 and a half weeks pregnant, bags packed, essentials prepared, moses basket ready and waiting. The only way that I wasn't prepared was mentally, and I really don't think you can be.

Realizing I was having contractions was quite a shock, it was 2am, I had been woken from sleep by niggly little pains under my bump, at first I went back to sleep, only to wake ten minutes later with the same thing. Once I got myself together (I love my sleep and I'm not the kind of person that wakes easily!) I realized this was happening in a pattern, every ten to twelve minutes. This continued until about 6am. I woke my partner with an excited and alarming "This is it!", all I got back was a "hhmphhhh" as he rolled over and went back to sleep! For a new Dad then six in the morning may not be the best time to tell him your in labour!

Labour symptoms

You may have a show, up until the birth your uterus will be sealed with a mucus plug (a little like jelly), for some women this can dislodge and you may find it when you go to the loo, it may be a little streaked with blood. I didn't have this with my first baby, but I did with my second, it happened about 24 hours before the birth. Finding the mucus plug was quite shocking in itself, its not exactly the nicest thing to come across, and if you didn't know that this could happen it could cause you concern.If this does happen it doesn't automatically mean you're in labour, for some women this can happen days and sometimes weeks before.

If you've already been experiencing Braxton hicks contractions, then it may feel like a more concentrated version of this, and they won't stop like Braxton Hicks do! With my daughter I experienced Braxton Hicks contractions for about a week before the real thing, they always happened at night, and they always wore off by 7am. This was quite annoying towards the end as I used to think "yeah, this is it!" and it wasn't!

Time your contractions, if they get closer together then its almost certainly the real thing, if they get close together quite quickly then ring your midwife of hospital. Don't leave yourself too little time to get to the hospital.Contractions feel like a tightening around your bump, other women describe them as very feeling like very strong period pains.

Your waters may break, as the babies head presses against the cervix it can cause the amniotic sac to rupture, this can be a very light trickle or a sudden gush. Don't be afraid to carry on your normal day to day life (like going to the shops) in case this happens, its highly unlikely that this will happen in the middle of Asda!

Most midwives and hospitals advise against going into hospital too early when you're in labour as you could just be sitting around in a boring hospital room for hours waiting. You actually are much better off in familiar surroundings until you do need to go into hospital. If you're at home you can do things to take your mind off labour, get plenty of snacks to build up your energy (as you will need it) walk around the house, play some music, watch some TV, start to use a tens machine for the pain if you have one, just try to keep calm and relax. Your midwife should have advised you of the when to contact your maternity suite and let them know you're on your way. This is normally when the contractions are about 5 minutes apart.

Ok, well now you're clued up on the labour part, lets take a look at the actual birth of your baby.

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