Late pregnancy confusion..?

[amyleigh33]

OK -- is anyone else a bit confused about all these late pregnancy symptoms?

If you don't necessarily always lose your plug (and/or have "bloody show") before you go into labour, and your water doesn't necessarily break before you go into labour, when are you techinically "in labour"? How common IS "bloody show"? How common IS water breaking? Right now I'm just over 38 weeks and I've been having cramping/mild contractions sporadically for the past week. Are these "Braxton Hicks" contrations, or early labour contractions? What's the difference?

Any thoughts welcome and appreciated, even if it's just your own experience! TIA!!

[koru]

well...from my own experience...my water didn't break until transition with both my girls & i really didn't lose a great deal of my mucus plug beforehand either. (maybe a little blood tinge on the TP but that's it). also, if left alone, it's definitely more common for your water to break during labor so contractions getting longer, stronger & closer together are the best judge of true labor. i hate to say this....but you'll know! hang in there!

[amyleigh33]

Okay so the timing/intensity of contractions could become strong before water breaking..check. And they'll hurt right? Like I'll be like, woah, these are real contractions? I wonder if these "cramps" are just BH contractions, then...

I found a thread on another board that answers some of the questions, sort of.. might be of interest to some other 1st timers, here:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=663557

[Munchkimo]

Generally, the contractions will start to assume a rhythm and will increase in length and frequency.

Once labor is truly underway, you'll likely that find your entire demeanor has changed.

[richella]

w/dd I felt distinctly different, stronger contractions, not a definite pattern though. Wouldn't call it painful but . . . I knew it was the real thing. Well, that happened and they tapered off 3 nights in a row, then my water broke, which was unmistakeable. I think you'll know.

[PapayaMom]

I remember feeling the same way with DD. Unfortunately I think it's one of those, if-you-have-to-ask-you-aren't-in-labor things.

But to answer the questions with dd I had bloody show at about 3:30am when i was doing a normal bathroom run, had my first few contractions, went back to bed for a while labored throughout the day water broke at about 3:30pm dd was born at 7:24pm. I knew I was in labor from the time I had bloody show, mostly because of the contrax but also because I was 8 days late and not willing to except any other alternative

Now i have semi-painful contrax here and there lots of BH lots of weird cervical pain, I am not expecting a babe for a little while yet but I do hope all of these things are dialatingeffacing and generally moving things in the right direction so when labor is upon us there is less work to do.

Hang in there!

[Synchro246]

About 10-15% of labors start with water breaking. I don't know about the mucus plug though.

I'm not exactly confused about the symptoms, but I am anxiously awaiting for them to make themselves clear, IYKWIM "Like, comeON get into a pattern, let me see some goo already!"

[Ilana]

My water only broke once I started to push and I only got the bloody show when I hit transition. My labour started with contractions that I hadn't had before and they took a while to get strong and regular but I was clearly in labour. No if, ands or buts about it.

Would be nice to have some clear signals but the body doesn't necessarily work that way.

ILANA

[amyleigh33]

10-15%, that's all, huh? wow! that's not nearly as many as you would think from TV

[tangomoon]

With DD, labor started in the middle of the night with bloody show, followed up by contrax of increasing intensity ~ she was born 14 hours later. Water was broken during transition.

With this baby (still awaiting his/her arrival), I began losing mucuous plug 1 week ago at almost 40 weeks, have been having bloody show for the last4 days, but no contrax to speak of yet.

[Willzmama]

With DS I lost my mucous plug after 17 hours of ctx that were about 30 seconds long and 5-60 minutes apart. (Yep. Irregular!) Then my water broke after 2 more days days of strongish ctx that increased in length and frequency but didn't stick with a definite pattern - SO FRUSTRATING and EXHAUSTING. DH and I kept logs of them which I still have. (On that 3rd day I got a second acupuncture treatment; my water broke 11 hours later.) My labor continued to be ridiculously long and irregular. :

Anyway, that's how it went with my 1st. I'm hoping for something more straightforward this time. I'm much less afraid this time, and looking forward to laboring with my MW at the hospital I've chosen, whereas with my 1st I really felt pressured and was afraid of interventions - DS was 2 weeks "late". I think that had a lot to do with less than optimal fetal positioning, as well as my fear.

[roadfamily6now]

in 4 out of my 5 births my water did not break until I was in acutal labor for a while. With my 5th, it leaked when contractions started.

However, Ihave never had any other signs like bloody show or mucus plug........stuff like that.

My SIGN was contractions.

[momofelise]

I had the bloody show before labor started. But labor was still definitely different from my bh contractions; once labor started the contractions were more painful and much more regular.