Signs of labor
After months of waiting, your baby is almost ready to arrive. Just as your body has helped your baby grow and develop for 9 months, it will now undergo changes to deliver your baby. Labor can be hard work, but there’s no greater reward for your efforts than bringing a new life into the world.
Signs that your body may be getting close to labor include:
- The baby may settle into your pelvis. This is called dropping or lightening and you may not feel it happen.
- Your cervix may begin to thin and open (cervical effacement and dilatation). Your doctor checks for this during your prenatal exams.
- The sporadic uterine contractions (called Braxton Hicks contractions) that you may have felt during the second and third trimesters of your pregnancy may become stronger and more frequent, and maybe a little painful.
- Your contractions are getting longer, stronger, closer together, and don’t go away.
- Your “water breaks” (rupture of the membranes). This usually happens after labor has already started. Call labor and delivery if you suspect that your bag of water has broken.
By Betty Shen, MD - Published November 3, 2015