Experiencing contractions in your third trimester means that you have reached the last stage of your pregnancy and are ready to welcome your little one. At this stage, it is important to check the frequency of contractions and ways to time them.
Armed with this information your health care provider can then gauge whether or not it is time to rush you to the hospital. But before we jump to that, let’s first understand how labour works and how you can best time the frequency of contractions.
Labour And The Frequency Of Contractions: All Your Need To Know
Labour Pain (Photo Credits: Flickr)
Labour or the childbirth process starts when the baby leaves the uterus.
You know you are in labour when you feel regular contractions that cause your cervix to dilate (open up) and the muscles of your uterus become tight and then relax.
Contractions usually feel like a dull backache, a pain in the lower abdomen, or pressure in the pelvic region. They can also sometimes feel quite similar to that of menstrual or diarrhoea cramps. At the beginning of labour, most contractions last from 60 to 90 seconds and occur every 15 to 20 minutes. They decrease in duration and increase in frequency as labour draws closer.
It is during this time that you will need to time yourself.
Frequency Of Contractions: How To Count & Time Them
Ideally, you (or your partner) should start counting from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next.
One of the easiest methods is to write them down on paper, each time a contraction begins. Note down its duration, or count the seconds until the actual contraction lasts.
You can also mark the time from the start of one contraction to the start of the next one. Note them for at least an hour to see if there is a pattern.
The traditional method to count contractions is the 5-1-1 rule. This is when contractions occur every 5 minutes, each lasting a full minute, and have been that way for an hour.
Some experts also recommend the 4-1-1 (four minutes apart) or even 3-1-1 (three minutes apart) method.
Remember that each pregnancy is different and there is no set thumb rule. It is sometimes important to trust your instincts. If you feel something is wrong, immediately inform your health care provider.
Benefits Of Timing A Contraction
Contractions (Photo Credits: Unsplash)
One of the major benefits of timing contractions is that it can help you tell the difference between true and false labour contractions. It is necessary to understand this difference to help you know when you are really in labour.
This is important because not all contractions mean you are going into labour.
Difference Between True Contraction And Braxton Hicks
You may experience contractions on and off before true labour starts. We know this as false labour or Braxton-Hicks contractions. There are few visible differences between a true contraction and a false.
First, labour contractions continue even if you switch positions or move around. False contractions may go away once you move. Real contractions get stronger and more painful as time passes, but false contractions get weaker.
Watch out for other signs to know if you have gone into labour like:
- Water breaking
- The baby dropping lower toward the cervix
- Passing off the mucus plug
- Dilation of the cervix
Once you reach this stage, the next steps would be going through the actual three-stage labour process.
- The first stage includes the time the contractions begin and your cervix starts to fully dilated.
- The second stage is when your body shifts from dilating to pushing, and the movement of your baby through the birth canal and into the world.
- The third stage is when your body starts to recover.
Now, if you are a hospital your health care provider will likely take you through the three stages and safely deliver the baby. But what if you are at home?
Here’s What You Can Do At Home During Early Labour
Labour Pain (Photo Credits: Shutterstock)
Assuming that your contractions have started, and you are at home, there is still some time for you to reach the hospital. The first step is to relax and not panic.
Here are a few things which you can do at home during early labour:
- Practice light breathing
- Listening to relaxing music to soothe your nerve
- Cross-check your hospital bag to see if you have missed packing any essential items.
As you get closer to your due date, it is very important to prepare yourself mentally and understand the signs of labour to help you sail through a smooth delivery.
Source: Sutter Health
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