Signs of Early Labor You Want to Know Now
beginning the beginning phase of Labor ah it is
the one that seems it can it can be such a range it can be short for some people it can be very
long for other people and it is the time of labor when labor just gets started it might even be a
time where your body is an early labor but you don't know that you're in early labor so you might
be having some contractions your uterus might be contracting but likely and early labor there isn't
it not likely but often an early labor the uterus doesn't have a pattern of contractions yet so
contractions might be sporadic where they're happening one you look at one five minutes apart
one ten minutes part one seven and a big stretch goes so that's not uncommon to see an early labor
the technical definition of early labor is when your cervix is between zero centimeters dilated
and six centimeters dilated so the cervix dilates 10 centimeters and our technical term is really
zero to six centimeters dilated so and that has changed over the years it used to be zero to
four with early labor and the American College of OBGYNs has updated that to six zero six so
it's that early phase of labor where your cervix is dilating as your 6.now that doesn't mean it
early labor doesn't mean that contractions aren't in a pattern but usually at the very beginning
of early labor we see contractions developing into a pattern it's also the time of labor where
contractions are usually shorter from start to finish so we might see contractions 30 seconds
long and then they get more of a 45 more of a 1 minute long from start to finish so we're also
seeing contractions go going from a shorter time period to a longer time period length during
early labor early labor is also a time where you might experience some some other signs of
labor like you might experience diarrhea that can be an early labor sign sometimes people are
a little nauseous you're though your water might break and early labor but it might not it's not
a definite sign of early labor sometimes people lose their mucus plug or have some bloody show
both of which are on the wheel which we will cover at another day um but it's a good time to
try to it until active labor as much as you can coping good coping mechanisms during that time
is try to go about your day and your life as as much as normal as possible and be on the restful
side so if it is a time of day that you are in early labor and you should be sleeping so if it's
overnight sleep should be your top priority rest should be your top priority and then whenever you
have to get up whenever you have to move around and really deal with labor then deal with it but
until then because early labor can be so long it's really encouraged to try to go about your normal
day activities now the second time second time the third time if you had a baby before your early
labor might look a little bit different it might be a little bit shorter it might not look like
your first time or your other times giving birth but it's certainly the time where your body is
dilating from zero six zero to six centimeters good partner support during early labor is
encouraging those normal activities that rest when a when rest should happen definitely bringing
water you know having that water bottle ready to go having snacks ready to go encouraging to move
around once labor kind of picks up encouraging movement and being present is a great way to be a
supportive partner in early labor and again just being as as keeping as normal of an activity in
a restful fashion as you can so I don't mean like go to work go to Target or something like that in
early labor though some people do but just trying to keep keep a little bit of normalcy it's also
good in early labor just to check in with your contractions I wouldn't recommend timing every
single contraction because that can make living life normally not work really keeps you focused
on time sometimes can feel really long if you're timing every contraction but timing checking
in with your labor as they feel like they've changed so early labor it is also the other thing
to note is it's usually when people are excited about labor because you've waited a long time
and it's a exciting phase so usually we're more excited and energetic in early labor then maybe
an active or transition phase so if you have any questions about early labor want to share your
experiences of early labor if I missed anything if you're a birth worker or doula and you want to
add to the conversation please enter comments I to see comments about the topic of the day
and keep the conversation going after the wheel has fun if you need any more information
about partner support check out the supporting her online course for labor which also put the
link in the comments and I will spin the wheel again tomorrow and see what topic we have so
see you guys next time bye thanks for joining
