You've packed your hospital bag, sorted the nursery, now you're impatient to meet the little being you've been carrying around for nine months. Relax, you're almost there. These signs will confirm it – just don't expect them all, or in any order, as every birth is different.
1. Your waters break
In the movies this is how labour starts – dramatically, at dinner in a posh restaurant. But in life the amniotic sac surrounding your baby may give way with a gentle trickle over several days, rather than a sudden gush. Either way, call your midwife or maternity unit immediately, especially if the fluid is pink (indicating bleeding), green or brown (signs of meconium from your baby's bowels, suggesting distress; if she inhales or ingests it, it could be dangerous).
“There may also be cord prolapse with water breaking,” says Dr Navashree Dhaver, gynaecologist and obstetrician from Life The Crompton Hospital in Hillcrest, this is when the umbilical cord slips into the birth canal before labour.
2. Your breathing and digestion eases
This can happen in the weeks or hours before labour, as your baby drops into position for birth, taking pressure off your diaphragm and lungs, and no longer forcing stomach acid into your windpipe to cause heartburn.
3. Your back aches
This can signal that your baby is turning into position for birth, and can be painful. Request a professional backrub and take a warm bath, advises Dhaver.
4. You have a "show"
In the days or hours before labour, the mucus plug covering your cervix comes out in a pinkish jelly-like lump, or gradually, in small pieces you may not even notice - this is known as a "show". If it's blood-red, head to hospital, otherwise try to relax, Dhaver says.
5. You constantly need to pee
This is another signal in the final week that your baby is dropping into position, putting pressure on your bladder.
6 You have diarrhoea
The same hormones that cause your uterus to contract can cause your bowels to contract and relax. Don't fret, it's natural. Drink water to stay hydrated, and try eating bland food (rice, bananas) to keep up your energy, Dhaver suggests.
7. You have a sudden burst of energy
This is probably a result of birth hormones, encouraging you to prepare instinctively for the birth and to 'nest'. Sort the baby clothes again if you must, but avoid heavy work.
8. You walk like a duck
Your joints are loosening and your pelvis is widening for birth, and can make you walk funnily. If you are also in pain and still have a while to go, ask you doctor about seeing a physiotherapist.
9. Your nipples leak
This can happen any time in your last trimester, but mostly in the last weeks. The clear liquid is colostrum, the nourishing precursor to milk, which comes in only a few days after birth. Use disposable breast pads in your bra.
10. You have contractions
You can have Braxton Hicks 'false' contractions at any stage, but these are short and painless. When contractions start weak, like period pain, every twenty minutes, and get stronger and more frequent, you are in labour. Call your midwife or maternity unit, and once you have three to five contractions in ten minutes, head in, says Dhaver. You're in active labour, and about to meet your baby!
Also read: 10 Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy
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