Labor pains symptoms

Medical science still cannot tell when exactly a woman is going to give birth. Certain researches claim that almost all labors occur either two weeks before or two weeks after the supposed date. In some cases a woman will experience symptoms of child birth all of a sudden and without any warning signs. In other cases, women experience the symptoms at a lot slower pace and a couple of hours and even days may pass before a woman gives birth. A lot of women do not even notice the symptoms because of the fact that some can be quite subtle. However, every woman should get to know these symptoms.

Labor pain signs

Contractions

Most women experience the Braxton Hicks contractions. These contractions are episodes of tightening of the uterine muscles that last for an hour or two. These contractions are almost a sure sign that a woman is getting near the moment when she will give birth to a child. As a woman gets nearer the actual birth the contractions will become more intense and painful. The pain from these contractions can be felt in the legs, pelvis and the lower back. When a woman experiences these contractions she should time them. If they occur quite often and last for more than 40 seconds then it is time to go to the hospital. Lightening of the baby

Another symptom of child birth is the feeling of lightening of the baby. A woman will recognize this time because the baby will start dropping until his or her head has fully descended into the pelvis. Women who carry the baby too high will notice a gap between the breasts and the abdomen. This phase of labor will show some other labor symptoms like pelvis pain, frequent urination, difficult bowel movements and feet and legs swelling.

Breaking of water

This is considered to be a sure sign of labor but it occurs with only 15% of women and it does not always mean that it is time for labor.

Show

Another possible symptom of labor is known as show. While the baby is in the womb, at the neck of the cervix is a formation of a plug of mucus which protects the womb from infections. When the cervix starts to dilate and soften the mucus plug may be dropped out of the uterus and that is known as show. However, this may happen a couple of weeks before the actual labor but it may occur a couple of hours before the labor.

Women who are near the end of their pregnancy will experience a sudden rush of energy. This is known as the nesting effect.