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Gretchen & Gregg
We had two contacts within two weeks and the first came on day two of our site being up. We are amazed at the response. We were actually able to choose our birth family and while the baby has not been born yet, if all goes well, it will have been 5 months from the date we were activated to the day of the birth. We don't want to be superstitious since more ...
Contractions
As you near the end of your pregnancy, you may start to think about the act of labor itself. Will you know when it is time to go to the hospital? Most women may experience a few bouts of false labor, which is perfectly normal. The last trimester is full of Braxton Hicks contractions- which are usually painless and go away within an hour or two. As you near your due date, these contractions get more powerful and may even begin to hurt. So how then do you know when its time to load up the car and head for the hospital?
Real labor is actually a mixture of a few things; first it has to do with the ripening and dilation of the cervix. A woman is ready to deliver when she is 10 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. Many women will walk around for days and even weeks with some dilation- and have little or no symptoms. The contractions getting them to this point are painless, so they will likely not notice them. As the dilation continues in preparation for labor, the contractions will likely get stronger and closer together.
It is important to talk with your doctor about their own policy on contraction timing. Some would rather you stay at home during the initial stages of labor, while others may require you to come in earlier- so find out the timing that they want to see. Have your partner help by timing your contractions. There are basically two different measurements that they will want to capture. First you have the length of the contractions- how long they are from beginning to end. These usually range from 30-75 seconds. Second they want to know how far apart the contractions are- meaning how long you have to rest between them. If you are truly in labor, the contractions will get longer and closer together at regular intervals. If they are five minutes apart- start heading for the doctor because it is probably the real thing!