Signs of Going Into Labor: Progressive Contractions

Video Transcript

"The best way to know that you're truly in labor is if you have progressive contractions. These means that your contractions are getting closer together and they're getting longer. Now when your contractions start, they might be really far apart. They might be thirty minutes apart or they might be forty-five minutes apart. But if you notice a pattern, if you notice that every forty-five minutes or every thirty minutes you're getting a contraction, that contraction probably would last about thirty seconds, then that's probably a really good sign that you are in labor. You still have a long way to go. It's still early labor, but you're going to notice that eventually, over time, those contractions are going to get closer together and they're going to get longer. When you have a Braxton Hick, usually if you stand up or you change positions, that contraction is going to go away. It's the opposite with true labor contractions. When you change positions, walk around or stand up, it's most likely that your contraction is going to get harder and stronger and it's going to be more intense. Which is a good thing because if you keep moving around, you'll want to get those labor pains going to hopefully make labor not last as long. So when you get a contraction, it starts at the top of your uterus and works its way down. The uterus is like fingers in the way that it is all together. Some women say that it feels like really hard menstrual cramps. Other women feel a tightening sensation. Other women might feel it in the back depending on the position of the baby. Some women feel like they have gas when it's just starting. It's very hard to describe what a labor pain feels like because it feels different for ever woman. So the uterus is called the fundus. And the uterus is made up of different parts, different ligaments almost, and they're like fingers. They come in together like this and they come in together like this. And they're all over. So what happens is from the top of your uterus, those fingers start squeezing. So you're having sensations this way, you're having sensations this way, you're having sensations this way. And those fingers are going to work down and you're going to feel it towards the bottom of your uterus. Towards the beginning, when your contractions are not very strong, it just might be that your stomach gets hard. That's your uterus contracting. And then as your uterus relax, that your stomach is going to get soft again. So a great way to know that you are truly in labor is when you have contractions that get closer together and last longer."