Signs of Labor

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Signs of Labor

About a week or two before labor begins, you may have certain hints that it is not far away. Slight, occasional twinges of pain may dart across your abdomen or lower back. The baby's head will usually engage in the pelvic cavity, causing the "lightening" effect mentioned earlier. You may notice a thick pink or red discharge, a sign that the protective mucous plug covering the cervix has been released, and your water may break, causing a gush or trickle of amniotic fluid. If your water breaks or you think it has broken, contact your obstetrical care provider immediately. This is important because there is a risk of infection once your water breaks, and your provider may want to induce (begin) labor to prevent this hazard.

Contact your obstetrical care provider if:

You have contractions that last 30 to 70 seconds and come every five to 10 minutes for an hour.
Your water breaks or you think it is leaking.
You have any bleeding, whether you have pain or not.

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Last updated:	September 29, 2004
Reviewed By:	Faculty of Harvard Medical School

Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.

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