Dr. Zoe Penn: Well, do you know it’s a question that people ask a lot and they often say to, how will I know when I am in labor? And I think the first answer to that is you’ll know, believe me, you will know.
Dr. Jenny Higham: Nearly every woman the time comes across does know clearly when she is in labor. Week or two before labor begins. Often there is a sort of limbering up face of the uterus and you might commonly go to bed and feel some crampy period like pains.
Dr. Maggie Blott: Most women go into labor at or after 37 weeks of pregnancy and there are three signs of labor starting. First of all waters might break.
Dr. Jenny Higham: With this you feel an uncontrollable warm fluid, usually clear fluid running down your legs and it sometimes confuse with having wet yourself.
Dr. Maggie Blott: The other way the labor can start is with contractions.
Dr. Zoe Penn: And contractions feel like period pains just more so. They are all low down in the tummy just above the pubic bone. When they are occurring about two every ten minutes, that’s the time when you should be thinking about bringing the midwife or the labor ward.
Dr. Maggie Blott: The third thing that might happen is woman might get a show.
Dr. Jenny Higham: Which is a bit of mucus or bloody mucus that arrives through the vagina.
Dr. Maggie Blott: If the waters break most hospitals will recommend that you go along and have a check up done. If you don’t, but the contractions haven’t started, you’ll probably be allowed to go home and come back 24 hours later.
If the contractions start what I only recommend to women is stay at home to start with. First of all to be sure that they are actually going into labor. There is nothing worse than starting to come in hospital and finding out having to go home again. So I recommended women to stay at home until they’re absolutely sure that the contractions are going to continue and are regular. And then advised no, you must in the hospital where you are having your baby and go in and have a check up done.
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