Your due date is at 40 weeks. Labour usually starts after 37 weeks. Labour is the start of contractions that will bring about the delivery of your baby. This process is a pregnant woman’s body preparing itself for the delivery and can be associated with other signs too.

The signs that your labour is starting:

1-You can lose your mucous plug, or have a bloody show. The mucous plug sits on your cervix and as the vaginal discharge thickens it can come out of your vagina and can be slightly bloody.

2-Your water can break. The water refers to the fluid surrounding your baby and the sac of water can break. This may feel like either a trickle of fluid or a big gush of fluid.

3-You can feel your baby dropping into your pelvis.

4-You will start having contractions. You could be having Braxton Hicks or “false” labour contractions. Braxton Hicks contractions settle down when you rest and are irregular. If your contractions become regular and increase in intensity and frequency, you may be in “true” labour. Time your contractions and check how long they last for. You can write that down. Contractions occurring every 10 minutes and lasting for 45 seconds or more indicate you may be getting into labour.

Contact us at Sunnybank Centre for Women if you are not sure whether you are in true labour.

If the thinking is that you are in labour, you will present to Sunnybank Private Hospital and one of our doctors will do a vaginal examination to check how dilated and thin your cervix is.

If you think labour is occurring before 37 weeks, contact your doctor urgently and present to the hospital for assessment.