Pregnancy and Signs of Labor – Preterm labor signs
Pregnancy can be the most wonderful experience that a women will ever have, that is, next to the delivery. For most first time pregnant women, delivery time is the most stressful part of pregnancy. You do not really know signs of labor to understand what to expect or how you will handle it.
What’s more, many first-time pregnant mothers do not really know what to look for when figuring out if they are in labor. Here is a bit of information that may help you with early signs of labor when your time finally arrives.
Did you know that labor can start anywhere from just before you deliver to up to a whole month before? With this wild time spread, how does one know if they are in labor at all? Although every woman experiences a different type of labor, there are early labor signs and symptoms that will help clue you in. For instance, signs of early labor can include anything from the baby shifting its weight lower in your body to cramping.
Being prepared up to a month before your due date is always important. Also, to help keep track of these signs and symptoms of labor that come early, try keeping a diary. This will come in handy when talking to your doctor about any concerns that you may have, as well as a handy tool to help fill in that baby book you will start. And one of the first labor symptoms you may be able to write about is called ‘lightening’.
One of the signs of labor which is lightening starts when the baby begins to get ready for birth by shifting down into the area of your pelvis, and can be seen as early as one month before your due date. What this does to your body is relieves a tremendous amount of stress that was put on your body due to the baby having it’s weight on your ribs, and thus allows the mother to breath easier. However, that added pressure will be transferred most often to the mothers’ bladder area.
The next sign or symptom of labor that you may notice is in your cervix. A pregnant woman’s cervix will start to change a few weeks before actual labor, and much of this process is called effacement, and can be seen by your doctor during check-ups. For example, during a visit to your doctors a few weeks before your due date you may hear him tell you that you are 25% or 35% effaced. But again, this is different for each woman.