Your doctor may have already given you a due date, but your baby may decide to be born a little earlier (or later) than expected. What are the signs that will allow you to recognize that the long-awaited moment has arrived?
The signs that a birth is approaching vary from culture to culture, depending on the customs and traditions. For example, the most common belief around the world is that a full moon affects births. Malaysians, on the other hand, believe that the body is ready for childbirth when the big toe gets cold. And when the ankles get cold, the baby could come at any time. However, this is just speculation, which has been the subject of study and research, and none of it has been verified.
Water breaking: a classic sign that labor is approaching!
If you feel water flowing (in small or large amounts) it is probably amniotic fluid! To make sure you’re not confusing water loss with the vagaries of your bladder, check the amount of secretions and your underwear. In any case, you should have in mind that water loss is painless and that most women give birth within the next 12 hours after that.
Contractions
It is important to be able to discern contractions during this period. That is, you need to be able to recognize:
- Braxton-Hicks contractions: this is an episode which can last 2 or 3 hours and is quite painful, but does not persist. The contractions may be painful and regular as in childbirth, but have no effect on cervical dilation. This means that the cervix is maturing slowly. It softens and shrinks but does not open.
- Actual childbirth: it starts with preparing the cervix for active opening: it will shorten, it will be centered, it will soften and finally open by 1 or 2 cm.
Back pain
Sometimes the position of your baby puts pressure on your spine, and even during contractions! If you consistently feel more back pain than you have had so far during your pregnancy, or if the pain is reflected from your belly to your back again and again, it seems that you are in labor.
Lighter lungs
As the baby descends into the pelvis, the part of the uterus that was pressing on your lungs until recently, gives way. As a result, the pressure you felt during pregnancy disappears and you feel like you can breathe better!
Full of Energy!
Although doctors cannot explain this phenomenon, many mothers say they have experienced increased energy in the days or hours before childbirth.
Nausea
Some mothers-to-be begin to feel nauseous shortly before childbirth. This can be a sign that your abdomen is contracting and you have a stomach upset. At this late stage of pregnancy, nausea probably means that your baby is coming soon!