This guide to timing contractions will help you distinguish between different types of contractions to help you determine if you are in false, early, or active labor. Be sure to share this information with your partner or support person, as well. By the time your contractions are coming fast and furiously, you’ll probably be too distracted to focus on a stopwatch or app.
How to Time Contractions
To time contractions, count from the start of one contraction to the start of the next. When a contraction hits, you or your partner should write that time down on note it in your app. You don’t need to write anything down when the contraction ends. As you record the contractions’ starting times, count how much time has passed between them. When that time is consistently around 5 minutes or less, it’s time to call your provider.
Why Timing Contractions Is Important
The end of pregnancy brings all kinds of sensations, from general aches and pains to lightning crotch as well as false and real contractions. Knowing what contractions feel like and timing them can help you determine if what you’re feeling are contractions, whether you are in established labor, and figure out which stage of labor you’re in so you know what to do. You should also know how to time contractions well before your due date so that you can recognize signs of preterm labor. Even if your water breaks (meaning the amniotic sac that your baby is floating in has ruptured), your provider may instruct you to wait until your contractions are regular and close together before you head to where you plan to give birth depending on your medical history and circumstances. You aren’t in established labor until your contractions arrive at a steady rate and consistently increase in both intensity and duration.
Types of Contractions
Real contractions are the type of contractions that mean you’re going into labor. However, days, weeks, or even months before this happens, you’ll start to experience Braxton-Hick contractions. Braxton-Hicks contractions, which are also called practice or false contractions, help the body prepare for labor and feel similar to early real contractions in that the abdomen tightens. However, it’s relatively easy to tell them apart from the real thing. As opposed to true contractions, Braxton-Hicks contractions do not arrive in a regular pattern, do not increase in intensity, length, or frequency, and do not tend to be truly painful. Additionally, practice labor contractions will usually stop if you move positions. This is not the case for real labor which won’t stop regardless of what you do and becomes longer, stronger, and closer together over time—and are progressively more painful.
Signs of Labor Contractions
Contractions can feel like very strong menstrual cramps. You will likely feel pressure or a dull ache in your back, abdomen, and pelvis area that moves in a wave-like motion from the top of your uterus to the bottom. They may feel similar to the abdominal pain one might get from gastrointestinal upset, and may also be described as an intense tightening, pulling, or crushing sensation. How strong the contraction is will help you tell the difference between Braxton-Hicks contractions and contractions of true labor. As noted above, Braxton-Hicks contractions are generally weaker, irregular, and infrequent. They usually don’t cause any real pain and by definition don’t cause cervical change. Labor contractions, meanwhile, will be stronger and will arrive with some degree of regularity. If you are experiencing most—or all—of these symptoms, it is time to start timing contractions.
Regular strong contractionsPainDischargeWater breaking
How Long Do Contractions Last?
Each stage of labor is characterized by the degree to which the cervix has dilated, as well as the timing of contractions:
Early labor: The cervix has dilated from completely closed to 3 centimeters (cm) in diameter. Contractions are mild—similar to menstrual cramps—and irregular. Each contraction lasts 30 to 45 seconds and occurs five to 20 minutes apart.Active labor: The cervix will dilate from 4 cm to 7 cm and contractions will be stronger and last longer. Usually, they will last 45 to 60 seconds, with three minutes to five minutes between each one. This is the point where you should generally call your provider and/or head to the hospital or birth center.Transition: During this final phase of labor before the birth of your baby, the cervix opens completely—from 8 cm to 10 cm. Contractions can be so long and intense they may seem to overlap. Each one will last about 60 to 90 seconds with just 30 seconds to two minutes rest between each.
How to Time Contractions
There are apps for timing contractions, but the good old-fashioned way of using a watch with a second hand or a reliable digital watch works just as well. You also can use a stopwatch app on your phone. Whatever you use, here are the steps to take. Grab a notepad so you can do the simple math required to determine how long each of your contractions are lasting: In general, though, unless your doctor or midwife has told you otherwise, you should call your medical provider and/or head to the hospital or your chosen place of birth when your contractions are every five minutes apart and they last 45 seconds to 60 seconds over the course of an hour if this is your first baby. If you’ve already had one baby, start making your way to the hospital when your contractions arrive every five to seven minutes apart and last between 45 seconds and 60 seconds each.
A Word From Verywell
Contraction timing is an important tool to help you identify when you are in labor and when it might be time to head to the place where you plan to give birth. However, while the guidelines provided in this article are helpful tools, you should always talk to your provider about your individual birth plan so that they can advise you based on your unique circumstances. There was an error. Please try again.
