How can you know if it's real labour vs false labour?

Most labour contractions do not cause discomfort or pain that can ease with simple body movements. Other than trying to understand the situation independently, visiting your healthcare expert is recommended. They can diagnose and provide valid information to clarify your labour situation and let you understand if it’s real or not.

In which weeks does false labour start?

False labour contractions are believed to happen during the last trimester of your pregnancy. False labour signs can rarely be experienced during the second trimester. Once you start getting worried about labour contractions, visiting your doctor is a must to clear up any unwanted assumptions and confusion.

How can you stop false labour?

You can find relief from false labour by changing your seating positions, resting, performing mild activities, or drinking water. These contractions are less intense and irregular and can go away by following simple body movements.

True vs False Labour Signs: 7 Key Tips to Tell the Difference

Are you curious about what real labour pain feels like, how long it can last, and how to tell if it is a true or a false alarm? Every ache and contraction can trigger excitement in you, wondering if it’s actually labour time. However, you can experience signs of false labour during any part of your pregnancy. At such moments, it is important to understand the differences between real and false labour. Doing so helps you effectively prepare for your baby’s arrival.

What Is A False Labour Alarm?

False labour alarms are quite common during pregnancy. They can be experienced during any phase of your pregnancy. They make it feel like labour has started, but it’s actually just a false alarm.

During the final trimester, you have a high chance of experiencing false labour, leading to unwanted confusion. You might find yourself rushing to the hospital, mistaking these symptoms for actual childbirth.

What triggers a prodromal or false labour alarm in your body and mind is clinically unclear. However, it is believed that it can happen as an outcome of your body preparing for childbirth. It could also occur:

As the baby adjusts its position in your pelvis
Uterus toning and practising its muscles
Physiological or hormonal changes

All these changes can usually be felt in the late stages of pregnancy.

How To Differentiate Between A False And Real Labour Sign?

Although it is quite difficult to differentiate between false and real contractions, certain differences can help you understand them.

Things you might experience in false labour contractions:

Uncomfortable and usually less painful.
Irregular intervals between contractions.
The duration between each contraction doesn’t become shorter.
Contractions can ease out and even disappear at times.
They never get stronger over time.

Things you might experience in true labour contractions:

They are painful.
Intervals between each contraction become shorter.
They do not stop and ease out at any point.

Tips On Recognising True Labour Signs Vs False Alarms

Here are 7 tips that can help you in recognising true vs false labour signs:

1. Contraction progression: Real contractions happen at regular intervals. It can happen frequently and even turn severe as the day passes. You might expect contractions once every ten minutes, and then the interval might reduce to five minutes, and so on. There are no specific symptom patterns for false labour signs, which makes them unpredictable.

2. Increase in intensity: One change you can experience is the difference in strength in false contractions, which remains stable and unchanged over time. In real contraction, you can experience a gradual change over time.

3. Pain and discomfort in abdomen: False contractions, or Braxton Hicks contractions, are intended to affect any part of your abdomen. The pain or discomfort in your abdominal area tends to disappear once you change your seating position, stand up, move, or lie down. In real contractions, your entire lower back and abdominal area can experience severe labour pain. The pain doesn’t ease up, irrespective of how you move or lie down.

4. The 5-1-1 rule: This particular rule recommends that if contractions are experienced once every five minutes for at least an hour, they indicate active labour. There will be no progression of such contractions in a false alarm.

5. Monitor water breaking: One of the key signs that true labour is near or has already started is when your water breaks. This means the amniotic sac surrounding your baby has ruptured. It might feel like a sudden gush of fluid or a steady trickle that doesn’t stop. Either way, it’s not something you can control, and it usually doesn’t happen with false labour.

6. Look for a show (mucus plug): In true labour, many women notice a thick, blood-tinged discharge called the “show” or mucus plug. It’s a sign that your cervix is starting to open. You might not be in real labour yet if you haven't noticed this.

7. Professional evaluation: One definitive way that you must follow to determine if it's true labour is by visiting a healthcare professional. They can diagnose your signs and conclude whether it’s a true labour or not. Your healthcare expert will identify true labour, as its contractions can lead to cervical changes.

False Labour Alarm and Healthcare Professional Visits

If you are unsure if it's a false labour alarm, schedule an appointment with your healthcare expert. Discomfort and pain felt during false labour signs can cause unwanted confusion.

By visiting your doctor, you can be reassured about your contractions. It is highly recommended to visit your healthcare expert when:

You have been experiencing multiple contractions that tend to become stronger in shorter intervals.
You experience lower back pain that is either tolerable or severe, yet doesn't go away even after relaxing and changing your seating positions.
Contraction makes it difficult to move from one place to another or even while conversing with another person.
You have been witnessing a thick red blood show.

It must be noted that labour is quite a different experience for everyone. If you are unsure of true labour signs and false ones, it’s best to contact your doctor to ease unwanted stress and confusion. If your labour contractions are accompanied by vaginal bleeding, visit your healthcare expert right away. It can be a sign of childbirth.

While getting closer to the end of your pregnancy, you may start thinking about whether you are going into labour. Having uncertain moments is normal, especially when experiencing occasional discomfort or contractions. This is when you should consult your doctor to find out if your labour is real. They’ll guide you through what your body is experiencing and offer the right advice for the final stage of pregnancy.

FAQs on 7 Tips To Recognise True Labour Signs Vs False Alarms

How can you know if it's real labour vs false labour?
Most labour contractions do not cause discomfort or pain that can ease with simple body movements. Other than trying to understand the situation independently, visiting your healthcare expert is recommended. They can diagnose and provide valid information to clarify your labour situation and let you understand if it’s real or not.
In which weeks does false labour start?
False labour contractions are believed to happen during the last trimester of your pregnancy. False labour signs can rarely be experienced during the second trimester. Once you start getting worried about labour contractions, visiting your doctor is a must to clear up any unwanted assumptions and confusion.
How can you stop false labour?
You can find relief from false labour by changing your seating positions, resting, performing mild activities, or drinking water. These contractions are less intense and irregular and can go away by following simple body movements.