At the end of your pregnancy, you often do things that cause your uterus to contract. However,
not every contraction leads to the start of labor. Most of the times, it’s just false alarm, right? Still,
even these “false labor” contractions will eventually help you to bring on true labor.
Exactly. So in this video, we are going to give you 4 examples of things that can trigger contractions
which may or may not transition into true labor. Plus, we are also going to explain why you should
not be disappointed when your contractions do not turn out to be the “real thing”. Yes. In fact,
we are gonna explain why these “false labor” contractions are not useless and how they can
actually help you bring on true labor. This is Nathalie a pregnancy and birth
consultant and TCM therapist and that’s Mathias a researcher and science geek and on this channel
we help expecting mommies and their babies naturally and science based. It’s great to
have you on our channel! Let’s get started! Okay, so, one great example of something that
often leads to contractions is sex. When you experience contractions after sex during your
pregnancy, they are normally just Braxton Hicks contractions, right? But at the end of your
pregnancy, the contractions that you experience after sex can sometimes feel quite intense. They
may even be the start of a longer period of irregular contractions. And sometimes, these
irregular contractions may transition into longer lasting regular contractions. You know, the kind
of contractions that you experience when you are in labor. Yes. However, the reality is that most
of the times, they will disappear after some time. And so, sex is just a great example of something
that can cause contractions. You get overly excited. You believe it’s the real thing. But then
they stop and you are disappointed when in fact, you shouldn’t be! Because as we are going to see:
even though those contractions did not lead to the start of true labor, they will still help
you to go into labor eventually. Exactly. The second example is exercising. It’s something that really
lots of women report, right? They exercise, for example, they do birth ball exercises. And suddenly,
they start feeling contractions. And sometimes, those contractions can transition into more
regular contractions eventually. Exactly. Most of the times, however, those contractions won’t lead to
the start of labor. In fact, they often disappear after a certain period of time, right? Yes,
particularly when your mother-in-law is visiting when you return from the gym. You know
for some women, seeing your mother-in-law is like watching a 2000 pound rhino running towards
you. It will shut down your labor for good. Anyways, you were saying? Well. Anyways. So,
again, it is true that, when you get contractions after exercising, they often disappear. However,
those “false labor” contractions eventually help you bring on real contractions. Yes. The third
example is a vaginal exam. Vaginal exams often “irritate” the uterus, if you will. As a result,
vaginal exams often trigger irregular contractions. In fact, sometimes, those
irregular contractions can become quite painful, right? Most of the times, however, they are gonna
disappear after some time. Yes. Or they stay and transition into more regular contractions.
And this can often be the case when they do a membrane sweep which is when your provider or
midwife sweeps a finger across the membranes that separate your uterus from the amniotic sac. But no
matter if this brings on real contractions or not, it can certainly support your body go into labor.
But more about this in just a second. Yes. The last example is nipple stimulation. If you follow
our channel then you probably know that we often propose nipple stimulation as a natural way to induce
labor. Which is probably the reason why sometimes, women send us videos in which they stimulate their
nipples and ask us if they are doing it right. Look, about that. Sometimes, it’s me who
checks those e-mails. And, don’t get this wrong. You have wonderful bodies and all. But,
I’d rather have you not doing that, okay? This should be a private thing and I really feel uncomfortable
watching you stimulate your nipples. Also, because we do have a video in which we show you how to do that.
So, yes, that’s that. Anyways. Anyways, so yes, nipple stimulation is another example of something that
can trigger contractions which is why we often propose it as a natural way to induce labor.
Yes. And indeed, under certain circumstances, nipple stimulation often triggers contractions.
But the reality is, of course, that nipple stimulation does not always lead to the start of
labor. Exactly. However, even if it only helps you get a couple of “false” contractions and does not
bring on labor straight away, these contractions can eventually help you bring on truelabor. And
this is why we mention nipple stimulation on our channel, right? So, the question is:
how is this even possible? How can contractions that did not directly lead to the start of true labor
and may even disappear after a while, how can they eventually still help you go into labor?
Well, there are several things involved here. First of all, it is important to note that false
labor contractions are not useless. Because what they do is they train your uterus for
the real thing which is why they are often called practice contractions, right? For example: these
false contractions help tone the uterine muscles which is very important for the birth process. So,
they too help you prepare your body for labor. Exactly. They also help you prepare your body for
labor in other ways. For example, those irregular contractions that you often experience in the
pre-labor phase help your body bring your cervix into a forward position. In addition, “false
labor” contractions may also have a role to play in softening the cervix. Because remember: you
can only go into labor, if your body is ready for it. And among others, “ready” means that your body
has accomplished certain tasks such as softening your cervix so that your real contractions can
then take over and eventually dilate your cervix. Exactly. And because of that, every contraction
that does not lead to the actual start of labor will still help you to do that just eventually. It’s
a process. Every step leads to the next step. And eventually, it will get you where you want
to be and need to be. Yes. But there are even more benefits. “False labor” contractions can also make
the success of labor induction with natural tools more likely. Take nipple stimulation,
for instance, right? Researchers found that nipple stimulation is more likely to work, if your cervix
is soft at this point and if you have had at least some contractions before you try to naturally
induce labor. And both can be accomplished by contractions that you experience before the actual
start of labor. Exactly. So, as you can see, every false labor contraction that you experience will
help you go into labor eventually. At the end of your pregnancy, they are nothing else but a very
clear sign of your body that your body is now preparing for the big day. Exactly. So, please
don’t be disappointed when you feel contractions that don’t directly transition into real labor, okay? Right
and then one final thing because some women have asked if dehydration can lead to contractions. And
some of you even suggested to get dehydrated on purpose to bring on labor. So,
first of all, yes, dehydration can indeed trigger contractions. But there is something important
that you need to know about dehydration. It can also slow down and even stop your labor. Exactly.
And because of that, contractions from dehydration almost never lead to anything. Most importantly
though, dehydration can lead to all sorts of pregnancy-related complications. Therefore,
we kindly ask you to never try to get dehydrated on purpose. Trust me, it will do more harm than
good! Right. So what did we learn today? On our channel, we teach you lots of things that we claim
will help you go into labor, such as exercises and nipple stimulation for instance. But,
it is important to understand that these things will not always directly lead to the start of
labor. In fact, let’s be honest: in most cases, they won’t, right? But what they will do is, they will
support your body prepare for your delivery, for example, by helping your body soften your cervix,
by helping you get those first irregular contractions, or by helping your cervix move
into a forward position. And other things, right? Yes. It’s a process that eventually can help you
get where you wanna be. In labor. But again it’s a process. Yes. So, please don’t be disappointed when
you do something and you experience contractions and you get overly excited but then they stop.
Those “false labor” contractions are just a part of that process that eventually will help you go
into labor, okay? Yes. With that said, do what we always tell you to do on our channel. Help
your body prepare for labor, for example, with the birth ball exercises that we show
you in the video that pops up now. Right. If you have found this video helpful, we would be super
grateful if you could leave us a like below this video! Yes. And for more useful tips and tools
on pregnancy- and baby-related topics, make sure to subscribe to our channel and to hit the bell!