Will I know when contractions and labour start?!

[moomin35]

This is going to sound a bit stupid but will i know when I am in labour and have contractions? Where are contractions felt? Despite doing a few birth classes I obviously wasn't listening to the labour part as I have no clue what to expect and I'm worried I am not going to know when to ring the midwife or whether its a normal pain/discomfort or the real thing? Anyone able to offer me any advice?

For me there was a real difference between the discomfort and the contractions - but yes, at the very start it can be a bit hard to tell, especially if your waters haven't broken.

Mine started like period back ache. It wasn't actually painful, just a bit weird and different from Braxton Hicks. I didn't think anything of it the first few times, and then it struck me that I was getting this back ache for a minute every ten minutes or so and that they might just be contractions...

It is quite hard to explain where you feel them because they are inside, and not an area you refer to as much. But I would say basically they are regular tightenings, not that painful, that start to become very regular and a little more painful each time.

But trust me, bar the first few while you work out what is going on, you'll know they are contractions They really do feel very different from anything else. And hopefully you'll have had your waters break or a show (where the mucus plug falls out, quite gross, can happen a few days before anything starts to happen) beforehand to give you an indication that you might start labour soon.

As for calling your midwife, the general recommendation is as long as you feel ok and the baby is still moving then there is no need to call the midwife until the contractions are incredibly regular or it's getting too painful. Or start a thread on MN and ask people for advice, that's what I did!

I didn't know until 24 hours into labour! Mine started very sneakily as normal Braxton Hicks (my BH were sometimes painful) and veeeeeeeery slowly developed into a pattern. I only realised until they were 10 minutes apart that I was in labour. My labour lasted another 36 hours after that.

You will know it is labour before it is at the stage where you need to call anyone. Generally, if you aren't sure it is very early labour or general niggles and BH.

Either something will happen which quickly identifies as needing to call someone - waters breaking, contractions starting strong and obvious.

OR

You will have a longer, slower build up where eventually you think "this is quite regular and I can't ignore it any longer" In which case you probably still have plenty of time.

All three of my labours have been the latter. What has differed is how long the whole 'starting up' bit has lasted (from 36 hours with first to a couple with the third) and how long it lasted once it got going.

I knew when my waters started trickling, then gushing down my leg!! I had to stay in hospital to labour so can't give you any advice on when to call the mw but my baby was back to back so I felt contractions all in the bottom of my back.

I didn't realise until I was well into established labour and my contractions were every 3-4mins -and even then I had to get my mum to come round to give me her opinion .

Generally, if the pains are at regular intervals and you can't talk through them, it's labour. If in doubt, you can call the labour ward for reassurance.

Everyone told me that youll know when you are in labour but I didnt know and assumed they were braxton hicks until 2hrs before my baby arrived.

I started getting them on a friday afternoon and they were just every now and then and were uncomfortable but would go away overnight. They started to get more and more uncomfortable but as I was only just 37 weeks i thought still braxton hicks as i had had some a few weeks previously and they felt the same.
They continued over the weekend and started to get more and more uncomfortable and slightly painful. I had an app to register the timings but they were all over the place. 3 mins, 2 mins, 10 mins, 20 mins, 3 mins again and i had always been told contractions are regular and to wait until they are about every 5 mins.
Well on the monday night i didnt sleep at all and they were painful. It was pain from my bum round to the base of my bump. I was doing breathing and everything but they were still all over the place so as i am a wimp i assumed braxton hicks.
On the tues at 9am my waters went (37+4) and then the contractions came thick and fast with hardly any breaks and thats when they really hurt and i knew it was labour. My little one was born at 10:49am!
Ill def know for next time though.

Sounds like maybe you had a long latent stage and then a labour like a rocket Rosie. Same thing happened with one of mine.

I agree regularity ain't everything. But for a first timer I'd say that, if they aren't regular or intense then it is probably early or a false alarm.

Sounds like maybe you had a long latent stage and then a labour like a rocket Rosie. Same thing happened with one of mine.

I agree regularity ain't everything. But for a first timer I'd say that, if they aren't regular or intense then it is probably early or a false alarm.

Sorry Roxie. And posted twice. ..

I go a show then the next morning I got tired period pains but not what I thought was labour pain. It wasnt that bad (mild flu type ache). But when the pain starts you will know.

I kept on the gym ball at home and took panadol for as long as I could.

I was induced and neither me or the midwives knew that the first stage of the induction (the gel) had started labour. I had a long latent phase that started like period pains, pelvic on either side, which gradually built up in strength over the course of 12 hours or so (staying about 2-3 mins apart the whole time, right from the very beginning) but I didnt dilate until very suddenly (so the midwives kept examining me and saying I was only 1cm) and then bam I was fully dilated before anyone realised! Prob went through transition in about half an hour. Now, although nobody thought I was in labour, by the end I was properly in pain so I knew something was up even if nobody believed me. But the start was so gradual that it was all rather like the boiling of the proverbial frog - I can't pinpoint the time at which I thought "surely this must be it now" not least because I had no experience of what it would feel like and was being told I couldn't be in labour.

Can't believe all these people with long latent stages. I didn't have any BH, no niggles, no 'show', no 'period type pain'...
Then waters broke and bang! Immediate sharp deep painful contraction. Unmistakeable. Did not feel like period pain (dull dragging ache) it felt like... Like when you wake up screaming because you have a cramp in your foot and your foot is all bent and contorted and you know you just have to go with the pain...
But not in your foot. In your whole abdominal area, back and pelvis.
Anyway...
They started very strong, no real 'rest time' (I wasn't on my phone texting\mumsnetting or joking around with DH or having a snack etc like you see in OBEM let's put it that way) continued strong and consistent.
Approx 10 hours from first contraction to last.
Seems I'm unusual but not surprised. Heard so many different versions of birth i don't think there's really a standard version.

Started painless- is this contractions for about 16h then painful back to back down the legs contractions but hospital kept wanting to send home. Waters broke at home went in, they wanted to send home again as only 2-3cm but was in too much pain. Had a pitocin drip but still 20hr later so abouf 40hrs from first one

I'd say I had two days of not knowing for sure whether I was in labour. Slight aches. Another girl had a baby same time only had few hours between first pain and having baby.

I woke up with what felt like a period pain, just a dull ache so went back to sleep then was woken 20 minutes later by another and thought maybe it could be a pattern.
I went to the loo and there was a smear of blood.
Turns out it was the start, they gradually got closer together and a lot more painful and she was born back to back 30 hours later (yes I was knackered!)

Don't discount the tricks your brain will play on you as well. I woke up at 1.30am with back pains. Within 30 minutes I was having 30 second long contractions every 3 minutes. I was convinced it wasn't labour. Looking back, I have no idea what was going on in my head, denial perhaps? I had also had no latent phase, no BH, no symptoms really other than a very vague backache at bedtime. How I didn't believe it was labour when I was literally writhing in pain I will never know. DH persuaded me to go to hospital, I was 6cm by the time I got there, and had dd at 7am. Up until I got to the assessment room I was convinced they'd be sending me home, despite not being able to walk or talk by that point.

I don't think I could distinguish the pains as 'tightenings', it was more back pain, I actually thought I was suddenly really constipated, for me in the first couple of hours it was that kind of pain but hugely multiplied. Can't really remember feeling much at all at the front.

I had no idea. I spent most of the night googling "what are the signs of labour". It was only when I was pacing round the house rocking as another wave came on that it occurred to me it might be contractions... Looking back it all started and felt like period pain. Started 1am, waters at 7am, hospital at 10.30am, baby at 11.10am...

I will know next time!

Going against the grain here, but with all of my labours I contracted every three minutes right from the start...
So I knew.
But, I did think I was in labour in my first pregnancy when dc turned at 38 weeks - it was very painful!
You will probably start off wondering, then get more and more sure that this is it.