Signs of labour starting

During your pregnancy you may have experienced Braxton-Hicks. Your contractions may feel similar but will continue for a prolonged period of time. The contractions you have may feel like extreme period pains. If you touch your abdomen, it may even feel hard when you feel a contraction, then soften when the contraction eases.

You may also experience some lower back pain. It may even feel heavy or achy. As well as this, you may experience a feeling of pressure down below.

A mucus plug may also come out of your vagina. This mucus plug is a sticky jelly like pink substance. For some people, it may come out all at once and then for others it will come out in several pieces. This indicates that your cervix is starting to open up. Labour can come very soon after or take a few days and not everyone will experience a mucus plug coming out.

Your waters may also break before or after your labour starts. During pregnancy, your baby grows in a bag of fluid called the amniotic sac. When your waters break, it is this bag of fluid breaking and exiting out of the vagina. For some it will be a slow trickle and for others it will come all in a big gush. This is a clear fluid which may be a bit blood stained to start off with.