Six Signs You ll Be in Labor Soon

So many women focus on all these signs to give an indicator when the time is near. But the truth is, no one knows when labor will begin. When it comes to anticipating delivery, it’s best to just leave the work up to Mother Nature, and time will tell when your new bundle of joy will arrive. He or she will be worth the (much anticipated) wait.

Telltale Signs Predict When Baby Will Arrive (or Not)

The final month of pregnancy is filled with excitement and anticipation. So many preparations have been made for the big arrival: Showers have been given, nurseries painted, cribs assembled and diapers purchased.

You wait for some type of sign. Is that a contraction? Did I feel a trickle? I swear I lost my mucous plug! All signs that baby might be on the way.

Signs From an Exam

Each week during an office visit with their Methodist OB/GYN, many soon-to-be moms look to us for a sign things are getting close. One frequent request is to have a cervical exam…. that somehow a number means the time is near.

The truth of the matter is a number really doesn’t predict the arrival of a baby.

When a cervical exam is preformed your provider is looking for more than dilation of the cervix. Many things need to happen before it’s “all systems go.”

Signs From Baby’s Position

One of the first subtle signals a pregnancy is nearing its end is when the baby settles into the pelvis, also known as engagement. The head “drops” into the pelvis by a couple centimeters. This can happen from a few days or even just a few hours before the onset of labor.

Signs From Your Cervix

Next the cervix softens, going from a consistency similar to the tip of your nose to soft and squishy like your lips.

As the uterus practices contracting, the cervix moves from behind the baby’s head to forward on top of its head, closer to the opening of the vagina. This is referred to as the position of the cervix.

The cervix has to thin out or “efface.” I think of it like a mini-donut that starts out about two inches thick and slowly thins out. A cervix that is 50 percent effaced is about 1 inch thick, while 100 percent effaced means it is paper thin.

Signs of Dilation

Usually the last thing to happen is cervical dilation. As dilation slowly starts, you might lose a collection of mucous sitting at the inside of the cervix, up by the baby. This usually does not have much clinical significance. The “mucous plug” can actually reaccumulate!

What happens with dilation? Visualize the mini-donut again. The cervical opening starts out like a dimple and gradually opens. One centimeter is the size of your fingertip, two centimeters the width of a penny and four centimeters is the size of a Ritz cracker. Ten centimeters, the width of a bagel, is how much the cervix needs to dilate to pass over the baby’s head.

Most of these things occur prior to the onset of labor. Some women are about two or three centimeters dilated when they start to go into labor, however you may not be dilated at all or sit around for weeks at four centimeters.

The number doesn’t indicate when labor is going to start, but it gives us a little reassurance things are moving forward. For some, it gives some false reassurance things will happen at any time. Others worry it never will.

There’s No Real Answer (Sorry)

So many women focus on all these signs to give an indicator when the time is near. But the truth is, no one knows when labor will begin. When it comes to anticipating delivery, it’s best to just leave the work up to Mother Nature, and time will tell when your new bundle of joy will arrive. He or she will be worth the (much anticipated) wait.

About the Author

Dr. Maureen Boyle believes strongly in building a trusting relationship with her patients. She treats each woman as though they were her mother, sister or daughter, using that rule as a guide for finding the best treatment possible.

You can see Dr. Boyle at Methodist Physicians Clinic in Council Bluffs.

Six Signs You’ll Be in Labor Soon

The process of giving birth is unique. Some women get no clues that their labor is about to start, and then – wham – here it is! Others have signs for weeks, maybe even a false start or two, before the real thing begins.

There’s no way to predict exactly when you’ll start your labor. No one even knows for sure what really starts the big event. But here are six clues that your baby is getting ready for the big day:

Lightening

Lightening is the term for the point when your baby drops lower in your belly and settles deep in your pelvis. For first-time moms, lightening can happen a few weeks before the baby’s birth.

• You may feel the baby drop.
• You might notice that there is now space between your breasts and belly.
• You feel like you can breathe again.

Effacement

• Effacement or “ripening” is when your cervix softens as it’s preparing for your labor.
• It most often begins during the last month
• It is measured in percentages:
• 0% means no effacement
• 100% means you’re fully effaced

Dilation

• As your baby’s birthday gets close, your cervix begins to dilate, or open up.
• Dilation is checked during a pelvic exam.
• It is measured in centimeters, from 0 (no dilation) to 10 (full dilation)
• Typically, if you’re four centimeters dilated, you’re in the active stage of labor.
• If you’re fully dilated, you’re ready to start pushing.

Bloody show

This is when your mucus plug dislodges, which is not as gross as it sounds, nor as bloody. This is a sure sign that labor is starting.

• The thick plug of mucus that stops germs from entering your womb while you are pregnant gives way.
• The “mucus plug” doesn’t look like a cork and is more like thick or stringy discharge that you may pass in a clump into the toilet or your underwear.
• It can appear as pink, brownish or slightly bloody in color
• Most often happens a few days before or at the very beginning of your labor
• Many women go into labor before it appears

Your water breaks

When the sac of amniotic fluid surrounding and protecting your baby breaks:

• It’s more likely to leak in a gentle trickle than it is to break the floodgates
• Your doctor or midwife should check you and your baby right away after your water breaks to prevent infection
• Be sure to tell your health-care team if your “water” isn’t clear

Strong contractions

This is when your labor really gets going! Contractions are strong, rhythmic cramps that feel like a bad backache or bad menstrual pain. These pains:

• Happen when your womb tightens and then relaxes
• Most often start in the back of your body and move toward the front
• Open the cervix and help push the baby into the birth canal
• Come quicker and quicker in a pattern and last about 30 to 70 seconds each
• Get steadily stronger and keep coming, no matter what you do

Call your doctor if:

• You are less than 37 weeks pregnant and are showing any signs of early labor
• Your water breaks or you think you’re leaking amniotic fluid
• You have vaginal bleeding, fever or very bad or nonstop pain
• Your baby stops moving or begins to move less

When in doubt, call your doctor. Even if you’re not sure if your signs add up to the beginning of your labor, it doesn’t hurt to check in.

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