So the nursery is ready, you are all set. Every little twinge from now on will leave you wondering, is this it? The joyful anticipation to meet your baby. Here are a few key signs that labour is imminent. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 👼🏻 You may start to feel more pressure in your pelvis as your baby drops further and becomes engaged.⠀⠀⠀⠀ 👼🏻 You may start feeling wet due to an increase in vaginal discharge. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 👼🏻 You might have a show which is the release of your mucus plug from your cervix. The mucus plug protects the uterus from infection during pregnancy. This could mean that labour is imminent or could still be a few days yet but it a good sign that your body is getting ready. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 👼🏻 You may notice more bowel movements towards the end of pregnancy. This is because the digestive system uses a great deal of energy and so when labour starts the body does not want to worry about digesting food so efficiently deals with this before hand. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 👼🏻 An increase of blood pressure can also be a sign that your body is getting ready. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 👼🏻 Your waters break. This can be a continuous trickle of water or a release of a lot of fluid at once. Amazingly, the body will continue to produce amniotic fluid even after your waters have broken. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 👼🏻 You may experience practise contractions (Braxton Hicks) which help the muscle fibres of the uterus to tone and the cervix to soften and ripen. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So how will you know when you have a real contraction and labour has officially started? You will just know, instinctively you will know. Remember my earlier post about a contraction...they will come, they will peak and they will go. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Birth begins when you produce oxytocin which triggers the muscles of the uterus to flex and tighten. This is your contraction.⠀
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