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Tips for Timing Contractions

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Timing your contractions is a good way to track your labor progress. Once labor is rolling, you can get a good idea how close to delivery you are by the length of each contraction and the space in between. When contractions are less than five minutes apart and a minute or more in length, it’s time to head to the hospital. When they seem as though they are completely overlapping, delivery is very near. (Transitional labor is the most difficult and is generally when you dilate the final three centimeters.) There are lots of different tools for timing contractions, though … Continue reading →

Are These Contractions Real?

Looking back on my labor experience,I have to laugh. I laugh because I went through a period of latent labor which I grossly misinterpreted as the real thing. As I poured through message boards and repeatedly encountered bits of advice like, “don’t worry, you’ll be able to tell the difference between braxton hicks contractions and the real thing,” I had no idea how true those statements were. The difference between braxton hicks contractions and true active labor contractions is so significant, it is like describing the difference between a jet and a compact car. Yes, they are both modes of … Continue reading →

Birth Plan Vs. Reality

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Before I had my son, I said, “No induction! No pain medication! No episiotomy! No nothing!” Then I ended up experiencing what I like to call “lazy labor” and wasn’t stretching quite enough to fit the little guy’s head through. I did have a drug-free birth, aside from the Pitocin. I’ve heard Pit makes your contractions ten times stronger; needless to say I’m eager to know what natural contractions feel like compared to the ones I felt. I would like to go into labor naturally next time without the use of Pitocin. Will the natural labor feel like a walk … Continue reading →

Braxton Hicks vs. Real Contractions

Braxton Hicks contractions are also known as “false” labor. These contractions can often be confused with early labor. This is especially true for first time mothers, but even seasoned veterans wonder at least once or twice before the real thing. As the third trimester progresses, these contractions can get stronger, making it more difficult to tell the difference. There are three things to consider when determining if your contractions are real or not. The first thing to consider is the timing of the contractions. Initially, this can seem difficult to determine, particularly if the contractions are coming frequently. In general, … Continue reading →

When Contractions Start and Stop

The last days of pregnancy are often spent thinking about labor and wondering when it will begin. The wait is never easy, but becomes incredibly frustrating when you have contractions that start and stop. This happened to me in two of my four pregnancies. I’d get contractions that were coming as close as five mintues apart. Over the next hour or two, the pains would come gradually further apart and then dissipate altogether. There were a few nights when I went to bed certain I’d wake up in strong labor, only to wake up pain free the next morning. This … Continue reading →

Yoga Positions for Early Labor

The other day my doula visited our home to show us some techniques we’ll use for pain management during early labor.  Our goal is to do as much of the labor at home as possible – we’re more comfortable at home, and thus more likely to be relaxed here – and so these are some moves and positions Jon and I can do to help me get through the pain. If you get a book like The Birth Partner or other books about/that have sections on natural childbirth, these positions might be familiar to you.  I don’t know exactly what they’re … Continue reading →

More Fun Pregnancy Symptoms: Leg Cramps

In the middle of the night a few weeks ago I woke up with a terrible pain in my leg.  I cried out about it, and immediately began trying to rub and move my leg.  My more-than-half-asleep husband drowsily watched me do this.  He watched me try to bend my leg, to rub it, to put weight and hobble around the room on it.  When I made it to the bathroom he followed me, and asked me if I thought I was just having Braxton-Hicks.  In my leg.  Now we know that if I go into labor in the middle … Continue reading →

Dangers of Exercising in Hot Weather

I don’t know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods. But here in Wisconsin we are experiencing unusually warm weather. In fact, I was just watching a newscast this morning and the weatherman said that normally we might experience a day or two in any given week with temps in the 90’s. But the temperatures have been in the 90’s, with high humidity consistently for days now, with no relief in sight. Now for those who are used to this or live in areas of the country where it hits triple digits, I’m probably not getting … Continue reading →

Labor Part IV

I had been in active labor for a good three hours when, I agreed to have my water broke. I actually never crossed my mind to have my water artificially broken, but in the midst of very strong contractions and the prospect of getting through it sooner, it seemed like a good idea to me. I had to lay down so that the midwife could check my progress and I was eight centimeters dilated. I had several contractions while laying down on my back and they were the worst! The midwife waited for a contraction to put pressure on the … Continue reading →

Labor Part III

After about thirty minutes of these stronger contractions, I told my husband to call the midwife. It was about eight in the morning. Once the midwife and her on-call nurse arrived, they checked my progress. I was still only about three centimeters dilated but my cervix was now anterior so there was progress albeit still slow progress in the last eight hours of labor. Soon after the midwife and nurse arrive my contractions continued to get stronger and more painful. The contractions seemed to be right on top of each other. With every contractions I reached for my husband for … Continue reading →