How to Correctly Time Labor Contractions

When your pregnancy gets to the point where you think you are in labor, it is important to know the correct way to time contractions. When you call your Midwife or Obstetrician they will need to know exact times of your contractions, how long they last and how far apart they are. If you are incorrectly timing and recording your contractions you could end up in the hospital long before you are ready or even worse, in not nearly enough time.

Before starting, I want to point out that everything below is based on my experience with my 5 pregnancies, and knowledge that helped me out during the past 8 years. If you ever feel like you need more information it is important to talk with your medical professional asap.

You will need:

A Stop Watch, Or
A Watch with a Second Hand
A Contraction Journal
Pen

What you need to know about contractions:

The time from when one contraction Starts, until the time the next contraction Starts is how far apart your contractions are.

The length of the contraction is the time that the contraction starts until it is over.

Real contractions will not lessen in intensity or pain when you get up and move around.

Most likely, contractions will not increase in perfect regularity.

Once you are certain that you are having Real Contractions and that you are in Real Labor, and not experiencing Braxton Hicks Contractions, you will need to pull out your Contraction Journal and a pen, along with your Stop Watch or Watch with a Second Hand.

Unless your contractions are very strong and very close right away, you can start timing the contractions from the beginning of one, to the beginning of another. Write down the time your contraction starts for about 30-60 minutes, or until they are consistently coming less 10 minutes apart or less. They may be as far apart as 20 minutes, the next may be 5 minutes later, followed by a contraction 15 minutes later. As long as they are 30-45 seconds apart, not very strong, and inconsistent, you are still in very early labor and can try to relax and get some rest.

If your contractions have not become consistent within 30-60 minutes, feel free to stop timing, there is no reason to keep timing unless they are getting closer together and getting stronger. You can keep timing if you would like, but you may be in this stage for several more hours or even days. If after some time, you feel like they are occurring more frequently and are getting stronger, pull out your stopwatch and journal and take note of your contractions for another 30-60 minutes. You also do not need to sit still, lie in bed or stop your daily routine if they are not consistent or getting stronger. It is also very likely that you will be able to go to bed, get a full nights sleep and wake up in the morning still in very early labor.

If you are in this stage during the day, or you can not sleep at night, this is a good time to keep busy and not focus too much on your contractions. A few ideas of things you can do to keep busy:

Double check your bags to make sure everything you need for the hospital is packed, and set them by the front door.

If you have older children who will be needing childcare while you are delivering, give your children’s caregiver a call to let them know that they will be needed soon and that you will contact them again when things get moving along.

Post the news on your Blog or online Journal.

Tweet the news on Twitter.

Play your favorite video game.

Now is the time to eat something to make sure you have energy for delivery.

Cook up some food to toss in the freezer for when you come home with the baby.

Once your contractions are consistently less than 10 minutes apart, you will need to start timing them differently. By this point, they will probably start to feel stronger and you will notice that they are lasting longer. Contractions will probably last between 40-60 seconds and you may notice a peak half way through. At this point, you are in Early Labor. You will need to write down when the contraction starts and how long it lasts. You can also make notes if they are getting stronger or any other new pain that you may be experiencing, such as increasing back pain or having difficulty speaking during the contraction.

This is also a good time to call your Midwife or Obstetrician. They will want to know how far apart your contractions are and how long they last. At this point, you may be told to come into the hospital or your Midwife may give you a time to start heading in. She may also ask you to stay at home until your contractions reach a certain distance apart and/or last for a certain amount of time.

Once you are checked into the hospital and settled into your delivery room, you will not need to time contractions any more, you will be hooked up to monitors and have a nurse to help time the contractions and let your Obstetrician know how you are doing. By this time, you will be in Active labor and will be too distracted with the increasing discomfort and/or pain and should settle into labor without worrying too much about how far apart the contractions are and how long they last. You will definitely know you are in labor at the point.

A few things to remember:

All pregnancies are different. Even if this is not your first baby, you will probably find the labor is completely different.

Your contractions may never reach any type of regularity at all, so don’t depend completely on timing contractions. Do what you feel is right for how your body is behaving and the signs it is giving you. If you feel like calling your Obstetrician, then by all means do so.

You may not even notice the Early Stage of Labor.

If you water breaks, with or without contractions, call your Midwife or Obstetrician right away.

Don’t worry about feeling silly if you end up in the hospital with false labor and end up being sent home. It is better to be safe than sorry. No one will laugh, do anything to make you feel bad or be upset with you.