How did your first labour start?

[JackJack84]

If you went into labour naturally, how did it start?

Waters breaking?

Contractions/cramping?

Also was there anything different you noticed in the days leading up to labour starting?

I'm being induced next Tuesday but hoping things will start naturally before then. Unlikely I know as I'm only 37+3 but I can hope 😁

Woke up one Sunday with lower back pain, it got worse and worse but it wasn’t until about 5pm I realised it was contractions. From then it really ramped up and when we arrived at hospital at 8pm, I was 2cm dilated. Continued on all night and most of the next day, until finally midwife broke my waters manually around 3:30pm. Baby was born a little under an hour later!

I was 37+6.

@JackJack84 Ooh any tips on the new technique? I’m not finding it easy 🙈

Mine started with my waters breaking. Contractions started soon afterwards. Good luck OP!

I was drying my hair and was about to go to the shops.

I dropped my hairbrush and bent over my bump to pick it up. There was an audible POP and it was like someone chucking a bucket of water over the floorboards of my bedroom!

That was at 12 noon. At 3pm i started getting contractions and DS1 was born, 2 weeks early at just before midnight.

@TakeYourFinalPosition I was trying the C-shaped squeezing technique all week & getting the tiniest drops. I got so frustrated I just squeezed from behind my areola up to my nipple with both hands & it just started flowing out! Almost like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube 😂 I did it quite gently so they didn't end up too sore.

Prior to harvesting I always have a warm bath then massage my boobs with coconut oil while listening to my hypnobirthing tracks. I think that does help too.

Woke up at 40+1 (due date by my dates) to a contraction at 6.30am. Had contractions on and off all day. 5.30pm my waters broke. Dd was born by emcs the next afternoon at 40+2.

Awful back pain that no amount of paracetamol or warm baths could take away

Totally normal the day before, went to bed, woke up with an almighty pain about 3am and waters went about 5 minutes later.

6 days over due I had a hind water leak. Was booked to go into hospital the following day to ensure my waters had indeed started leaking and if they had I would have to be induced. Next morning woke up to contractions, went into hospital at the scheduled time (think was 1pm) and had DS1 at just after 9pm the same day.