Yes - this is what my midwife said to me after I had my DD2 in the shopping mall. A fast birth is usually a straight-forward progressing birth and so usually the babies just - come out! And all you have to do is stay calm and catch.fast labours usually being too quick for problems to develop. Found that pretty reassuring.
Like this!
Intense pre-labour is hard work mentally (is this it? is this it?) but they do fantastic work to soften everything up and get all the hormones running hot, and loads of pre-labour is usually a pre-cursor to a wonderfully progressing, smoothly unfolding birth. So none of it's wasted. It's just hard yards, especially if it goes on for weeks on end.
Pre-labour usually peters out either when you get up and the sun comes up and you start moving around; or when you go to bed. (Usually the former, because hormones tend to like the hours of darkness and often ramp up at night, and also melatonin synchronises with oxytocin, your main birth hormone.) Another way to tell if it's pre-labour is if they peter out or reduce in intensity or are spaced further apart when you are distracted, such as the phone rings and you talk to someone, or you go out in the car or for a walk, or you're watching something on TV.
Signs of full-on labour -
* there is bloody show, which means your cervix is opening and you're losing your mucous plug;
* the contractions are lasting a good minute and are close together, (like 3-4 within 10 minutes) and stay like that for an hour or more;
* you feel 'open' and the baby feels low - you can feel that downward progress in your body as your baby comes through your pelvis;
* you feel that unmistakeable "I have to poo!" sensation;
* if you gently have a feel yourself you can palpate your opening cervix and maybe even touch your baby's head pouting through the opening cervix - you might feel forewaters which feel like a water-filled balloon, and something hard just behind ... the head!
* you can't carry on a conversation anymore during contractions, and even between contractions you're in 'labour-land': eyes closed, intense concentration - it might look like you're asleep but it's like a deep trance-like relaxation state
* your waters break (although this can occur before active labour, but waters breaking after a considerable time of strong sustained active labour is a significant sign of progress)
* there's a change in your voice - low grunting or roaring
* your sacrum is bulging - this is visible to whoever is with you
* you don't want clothes on, you feel you want to strip down
* you feel like you want your 'cave' - your quiet, dark, safe space
This article, External and Observed Signs of Dilation, Descent and Progress might be helpful, so you know what to notice when you're trying to figure out 'where you're at'.
The most important thing though, is 'listen' to your body and trust your gut - the mother knows best what's going on in her body.
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