I want to make this as simple as possible whatever
pain contraction crampiness you're feeling over time if they are getting longer stronger
closer together then you're in labor there guys if we haven't met before my name is alice turner
i am a birth doula a le mans certified child birth educator with an engineering degree and I'm here
to talk about childbirth i make videos on this channel all about birth because it's
a life-changing experience and i want you to be prepared today is a big topic
and it is the one that i get the most comments about on my videos i love getting comments
and i'm actually kind of shocked that i get the most on this topic but they are all about how do
we know that we're in labor how do you know that you're in labor the hard part about this is that
labor starts a little differently for everyone there are a lot of clues that our body gives
that labor is coming but our all everyone's body doesn't give the same clues so i want to break it
down and really make it super clear so that if you are watching this and you're wondering if you're
in labor this video will answer you or if labor is in your future you'll be ready to know whether
or not you're in labor so the true definition of labor is when your body is making change
and your cervix is dilating so that we're getting closer to pushing and birth of the baby true labor
is when you have contractions sensations crampiness i'm gonna call it contractions a lot
of people experience them like menstrual cramps they're usually under your belly button that
are timeable so they have a definite start they have a definite peak and they have a definite end
so you might experience before that crampiness that's regular you might be experiencing
discomfort um all really normal but it's not until they are timeable and rhythmic really that you are
in labor so if you are not really sure about the cramps are they coming are they going i don't know
not in labor yet not in labor could be the very beginning could be on its way to labor but
not labor if the cramps or the sensations the contractions that you're feeling just kind of
feel the same intensity probably not in labor really they're going to have some type of increase
and some type of decrease to be considered labor they need to have a start and a stop some kind
of rest and then a start again that is real labor now i know that this can be confusing and one of
the main reasons i think it's confusing is that we never see this on images of tv and movies
it drives me crazy i mean you'll see somebody pregnant on tv and then all of a sudden they
get this far away distant look like something's happening and then of course they grab their belly
and then there's almost immediately like a they have to bend in half right they bend over their
belly ugh and maybe their water breaks right then or they have some kind of intense pain that
they're showing this is not how labor starts in real life i mean maybe one in a million this is
how it starts but for most people they go through a period of time that's like i'm kind of feeling
something but i don't know if this is what it is yeah i'm kind of feeling something but i'm not
sure and this is maybe the time that people get on youtube and find my videos and send me a message
that say this is happening or that's happening which i love to read those there's usually a
period of questioning a period of your body ramping up and getting ready that you're not sure
totally normal especially for first timers now i'm really speaking to the first time
people going into labor here because after you've had one baby you usually kind of know what it
feels like when you're in labor and things take off faster often if you've already had one baby
but when you've never experienced before it's very normal to not know what it's going to
feel like so again contractions need to get longer stronger and closer together over a period of time
so let's say it is 1am and you wake up and you notice you are feeling this crampiness
that lasts maybe like 30 seconds it's sort of mild and it comes back again maybe in 10 minutes
okay then a couple hours passed the crampiness is stronger where you're having to kind of breathe or
you know stop talking during them maybe that crampiness or contraction is lasting even longer
and then the next time it comes it's five minutes apart so they've just gotten longer 30 seconds to
a minute stronger where you can ignore them and then you have to breathe through them closer
together from 10 minutes apart to five minutes apart that's sleeper that's what labor looks like
a couple important things i want to mention if you are experiencing contractions sensations anything
that seems like labor and it's before 36 weeks do not hesitate to call your doctor or your midwife
that's what they're there for give them a call let them know what's going on
they might instruct you to come into the office or drink some water or call them back or a whole
various you know things that they might want to check in on you more if that's happening
if you are experiencing uh some of the warning signs of late pregnancy which we do have a video
on that that i'll link down below but things like blurred vision spots increase swelling that's
significant over a short amount of time if you're experiencing a period like bleeding if you're
having a flu-like symptoms or vomiting a lot if you have a headache that just really persists
all of those are not labor those are warning signs that you need to either call your provider
immediately or go into the emergency room so any of those are very important not to ignore
okay again labor is a tightening of your uterus on a rhythmic basis again longer stronger closer
together that's how you know you're in labor and if labor is in your future whether right now or
in a little while check out this playlist of my must watch videos before birth and if you are
liking the videos on the channel subscribe and i'll see you next time my videos are released
thanks for joining me today bye guys good luck longer stronger closer
together