Am I in Labor? Understanding your Body's Labor Signs
Hey sweet mama! If you're reading this, chances are you're wondering about those sensations you're feeling and asking yourself, "Am I actually in labor, or is this just another round of practice contractions?" Trust me, I've been there—wide awake in the middle of the night, timing contractions and wondering if this is finally "it." As a Christian mama and birth doula, I want to help you navigate these uncertain moments with confidence, peace, and faith in God's perfect timing for your little one's arrival. Don’t forget to grab the companion PDF for this episode "Am I in Labor? Discerning the Signs" Free Handout inside the Christian Mama Birth Prep Library.
Some links on this page are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase through them—at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and believe support a beloved birth and beyond!
🎧 Listen to the Episode
The Reality of Labor Limbo
Can we just be honest for a moment? Those final weeks of pregnancy can feel like the longest weeks of your life. You're analyzing every twinge, every backache, every weird feeling, wondering if labor is starting. And those Braxton Hicks contractions? They can be SO convincing sometimes!
I remember when I was pregnant with my daughter Ellie, I found myself scrubbing the baseboards of my bathroom at 3 AM, thinking this was completely normal behavior. It wasn't until afterward that I realized—oh, that was my nesting urge! Sometimes the signs are clearer in hindsight than they are in the moment.
But here's what I want you to know: God has designed your body with incredible wisdom for this process. Every sensation, every sign, every "practice run" is preparing you for the real thing. And while it can feel overwhelming not knowing exactly when labor will start, we can trust that His timing is perfect.
Understanding the Three Categories of Labor Signs
Through my experience as a doula and my own birth journeys, I've learned to categorize labor signs into three helpful groups. This framework has helped countless mamas I've worked with feel more confident and less anxious about what they're experiencing.
Possible Signs of Labor
These show your body is preparing, but labor isn't necessarily imminent
Dull, Low Backache That nagging, achy feeling in your lower back that comes and goes? Your body is starting to gear up. The baby is settling into position, and your pelvis is preparing for the big day.
Lower Abdominal Cramps Sometimes these feel like period cramps and might even radiate into your upper thighs. This is your uterus doing some "practice runs" and getting ready for the real work ahead.
Soft Bowel Movements I know—not the most glamorous topic! But your body naturally starts "clearing out" toward the end of pregnancy. This is completely normal and is just another way your body prepares for labor and birth.
The Nesting Urge That sudden burst of energy to clean, organize, and get everything ready for baby's arrival. If you find yourself doing things like scrubbing baseboards at 3 AM, that's your nesting urge kicking in.
Preliminary Signs of Labor
These might occur closer to when labor begins—from weeks to days or even hours before
Non-Progressing Contractions These are contractions that stay generally the same length, strength, and spacing. They're especially common in the evening when your body releases different hormones. Here's my advice: try to ignore them as much as humanly possible until they become so strong you can't ignore them anymore!
Losing Your Mucus Plug or Bloody Show Your mucus plug protects the cervix throughout pregnancy, and losing it is a sign your body is preparing for labor. You might notice a discharge with an egg-white consistency, sometimes with a little blood tinge. This is completely normal! Some women lose it gradually over time, others in one large clump.
Small Amniotic Fluid Leaks You might notice a slow trickle of thin fluid. If this happens, remember the acronym COAT: Color, Odor, Amount, and Time. Put on a pad, lie down for 15 minutes, and if you still feel fluid when you get up, definitely call your provider.
Positive Signs of Labor
If you're experiencing these, labor is starting!
Progressing Contractions These are contractions getting longer, stronger, and closer together. Look for the 4-1-1 or 5-1-1 rule: contractions are coming every 4-5 minutes, lasting at least a minute, for at least an hour. This usually signals the transition from early to active labor, and this is the time you’ll want to start making your way to your birthplace.
Large Gush of Amniotic Fluid This is usually unmistakable—copious amounts of fluid. Again, let you provider know and use that COAT acronym to give them helpful information.
Cervical Changes Your cervix will start to thin out (efface), soften, open (dilate), and move forward. Of course, you won't know this unless your provider checks you, so don't stress about this one if you're laboring at home or you’re opting to have minimal to no cervical exams.
What to Do in Each Phase
During Possible Signs:
Rest whenever possible - Don't try to speed things up unless you're past your due date
Stay hydrated - I swear by LMNT electrolytes (seriously, they're a game-changer!)
Journal and pray - Put on some worship music and spend time with the Lord
Practice relaxation techniques - Use those practice contractions to build confidence
During Preliminary Signs:
Stay in communication with your birth team
Time contractions for a maximum of 30 minutes - just to get a baseline, then stop unless things change significantly (i suggest this contraction timer app)
Take an Epsom salt bath - this can help non-progressing contractions stop if it's not real labor
Distract yourself - watch a movie, listen to music, do something enjoyable
During Positive Signs:
Tap into comfort measures - breathing, massage, movement, different positions
Call your doula and provider - let them know labor is starting
Set up your birth environment - dim lights, play music (I have a Worship Labor Playlist inside the Christian Mama Birth Prep Library), start gathering birth supplies if you're having a home birth OR
Start making your way to your birthplace - Once contractions are coming regularly and are strong (see the 4-1-1 or 5-1-1 guideline above)
Eat lightly if hungry - prioritize protein and foods your body tolerates well
Stay hydrated - sip water or electrolytes after each contraction
Focus on remaining calm - breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth like you're fogging a mirror, and relax your body head to toe like you’re a ragdoll
📖 Scripture for Your Heart
"But I trust in you, Lord. I say, you are my God. My times are in your hands." - Psalm 31:14-15
Isn't this just perfect? Especially if you're 42 weeks pregnant thinking, "Lord, WHEN will this baby come?!" I get it, mama. Even though I never made it to 42 weeks myself, I know how rough those final weeks can be. Give yourself grace knowing that the Lord has the timing of your labor in His perfect and capable hands.
🙏 A Prayer for Your Birth Journey
Lord Jesus, I lift up this precious mama to you right now. You see her in this season of waiting—the discomfort, the wondering, the practice contractions that keep her guessing. Father, you know this is hard. Being pregnant is uncomfortable, and not knowing when labor will begin can feel so overwhelming.
Give her peace in uncertainty and rest in her waiting. Remind her that you have equipped her body with everything it needs, and you have surrounded her with the support she needs for this journey.
Lord Jesus, please give her rest, and when the time comes, give her strength and peace to birth her baby in your perfect timing.
It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
📎Resources & Links Mentioned
✨ “Am I in Labor? Discerning the Signs” Free Handout – Grab this companion resource in the Christian Mama Birth Prep Library
🤰 LMNT Electrolytes – My favorite clean electrolyte supplement for pregnancy
⏱️ Contraction Timer App - I love this free and easy to use app
📚 Childbirth Education Course – Learn the stages of labor, comfort measures, and labor positions
💛 Work with Me 1:1 – Doula Support & Coaching: Explore birth support and childbirth education for your pregnancy and birth journey
📣 Let’s Stay Connected
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Grab your free birth prep tools at the Christian Mama Birth Prep Library.
Meet Your Host —
Hi, I'm Natalie! I'm a certified birth doula and childbirth educator in Jacksonville, FL, passionate about helping Christian women experience peaceful, faith-filled births. Through virtual and in-person support, I equip mamas like you to trust your body, embrace God's design for birth, and give glory to God through this season.
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📄 Full Episode Transcript
Hey mama, welcome back to the podcast. Today we're diving into what might be the question you're asking yourself right now, or might be asking yourself later on in your pregnancy: "Am I in labor?" Or is this just another round of Braxton Hicks or warmup contractions?
I have definitely been there before. Those practice contractions are so convincing sometimes. So before we jump in, I want to let you know that I've created a really helpful companion handout for today's episode that breaks down all of the signs of labor we'll be discussing. It's called "Am I in Labor? Discerning the Signs," and you can find it inside the Christian Mama Birth Prep Library. This is a completely free resource that I've put together just for you, so you can go sign up at faithoverfearbirth.com or just click the link in the show notes to get access to this handout, along with a ton of other valuable birth prep resources.
So now I'd love to walk you through the different stages from those early maybe signs all the way to "this is the real deal" moment. And of course, I'll weave in faith-filled encouragement along the way because God beautifully designed this process with such incredible wisdom.
The first thing I'll go over are the possible signs of labor. So these are signs that are showing that your body is definitely preparing for labor, but it doesn't necessarily mean that labor is about to start. Some of these signs look like having a backache that's dull, low, nagging, kind of achy feeling, and it sometimes will come and go.
Another sign is having lower abdominal cramps. Sometimes it can kind of feel like period cramps and sometimes might even radiate into your upper thighs. And then another sign is having soft bowel movements. Your body will just kind of start clearing out—you're gonna have a lot of bowel movements towards the end, potentially. And this is just a natural process for your body to get ready for labor and birth.
Next is a nesting urge. So this is that sudden burst of energy to clean and organize everything, to tie up all the loose ends and just get everything ready for baby's arrival. And I found myself scrubbing the baseboards of my bathroom and thinking that was normal. I realized after the fact when I was pregnant with Ellie that was my nesting urge—that I randomly felt like I needed to be scrubbing the baseboards at like three in the morning.
So if you find yourself doing things like that, or just you all of a sudden feel like you need to do all the things to prepare for baby, that's your nesting urge.
So with these possible signs of labor, some things I would suggest that you do in this phase is rest whenever possible. If you start to have these contractions, but you're not really sure if it's the real deal or not, don't try to spur them on necessarily—unless of course you're past your due date and you're trying to avoid induction, that's a little different. But if this is just happening in the last month, or maybe even the last two months of your pregnancy, rest, stay very hydrated.
Sometimes your body will have these practice contractions because you're a little bit dehydrated. So I always suggest drinking electrolytes daily. My favorite was drinking LMNT (L-M-N-T). That electrolyte brand is phenomenal. It's super clean ingredients. You can buy like a sample pack on Amazon, but I actually suggest buying it on LMNT's website because you can get a much better deal if you buy it in bulk.
But give LMNT a try. It helped reduce my swelling significantly also in my pregnancy, but also keeps you really well hydrated, kept me from having a lot of the leg cramps and things that I was prone to prior to taking an electrolyte drink every day.
Another thing you can do during this phase is journal and pray. And that could look like throwing on some worship music or just silence and just going to the Lord in prayer about everything that's happening in this season as you're preparing for baby's arrival, especially if it's your first. And then use this time to lean into that nesting urge, start finalizing your birth bag packing, or if you're doing a home birth, make sure all the supplies are in place. Just get yourself prepared so that it's one less mental load that you're carrying.
And then start practicing relaxation techniques. So one thing I love to teach my clients is to welcome those practice contractions as a way for you to build up your confidence to know what you'll do when you have real labor contractions.
So what I say is when you start having practice contractions, you take a cleansing breath in through your nose, out through your mouth, like you're fogging a mirror. And you scan your body head to toe—and especially this is nice if you're laying down, so say you're having practice contractions in the night, which is also really common.
So do that practice breathing in through the nose, out through the mouth. As you scan your body head to toe, kind of becoming like a rag doll where if someone were to lift your hand or your arm or something, it would just kind of flop down. Like you want to just totally relax every muscle in your body.
So those are some things you can start doing if you notice any of these possible signs of labor. And don't be discouraged. Just know that this is your body's way of showing that it's gearing up, but don't have an expectation that, "Oh, okay, I'm having these signs, so surely labor is right around the corner." Don't necessarily think that, but just know that these are good signs that your body is getting ready for the big day.
The next ones I want to go over are the preliminary signs of labor. So these might occur a little bit closer to the time that labor will begin—usually starts a couple weeks to days or sometimes even hours before active labor begins.
One of the first signs is having non-progressing contractions. These are contractions that are staying generally the same length, strength, and the spacing is staying about the same. And sometimes they can come and go, like I mentioned. This is super common at the last month or so of pregnancy, and especially in the evening, like at nighttime when you're trying to sleep. Your body just releases different hormones in the evening and you're all comfy, cozy sleeping next to hubby and your body just releases different hormones.
So this is really common and I'm so glad that my sister gave me a heads up about this when I was pregnant the first time, because when I kept waking up in the night to these practice contractions, if I hadn't expected that, I would've definitely stayed up timing them or seeing if they sped up or something happened.
And that's literally the last thing I want you to do. I want you to try to ignore contractions as much as is humanly possible until they are so strong, you just can't ignore it anymore. So if you're noticing regular contractions that are, say they're coming every five minutes, but they're staying about the same strength and the duration is about the same—they're about 30 seconds or something like that—pay no attention to it. Just ignore that it's happening.
And then the other thing you could start to notice for this preliminary stage of labor, potential labor is losing your mucus plug or even having a little bit of bloody show. So mucus plug is something that protects the cervix from infection and things like that. But towards the end of your pregnancy, you might start to notice a discharge, either in your underwear or when you wipe, that has a consistency of egg whites and this is a natural, normal process to lose that mucus plug ahead of labor.
Some women lose it a little bit over time, so little that they barely even notice that's what that is. And then others might lose it in like a large clump. Either way, that's totally normal. It's totally fine. And then sometimes that mucus can even be a little bit blood tinged. And again, that is normal, but of course, if you're noticing a lot of blood or a lot of fluid, that's something else. You'll definitely want to pay attention to that and talk with your provider if you're seeing those signs. But just a little bit of mucus, even a clump of mucus is normal and a sign that your body's gearing up.
What's also crazy about the mucus plug is you could lose your mucus plug, say like at 36 weeks, and then you don't go into labor until 39 weeks or 40 weeks. And so you can lose your mucus plug, it can grow back, and then you can lose it again. So it's one of those things where I say it's nice to pay attention to these signs because it's encouraging that you see your body starting to get ready. But don't hyperfocus on this sign alone, especially if you're not having any other signs that are pointing to things gearing up for labor to begin immediately.
The next thing is noticing a little bit of leaking of some sort of fluid. Some women can have a small leak, maybe like high up on the amniotic sac, and this can present as like a slow little trickle of very thin fluid from their vagina. And if you're noticing this, you'll definitely want to pay attention to the color of that fluid, the odor of that fluid, the amount and what time this started. And so to remember that I want you to think of an acronym: COAT. So color, odor, amount and time.
So if you start to notice some sort of leaking of amniotic fluid, I suggest putting on a pad, laying down for about 15 minutes. And when you get back up, if you still feel kind of a gushing of fluid, or there's just a steady amount of fluid that's coming out of you, definitely call your provider. Many of the time they'll want to have you either come into their office, or the midwife can sometimes even come to you if you're doing a home birth, or have you go to labor and delivery to test the fluid to see if it's amniotic fluid or something else.
So what to do during this phase? Stay in communication with your provider, or your doula or your birth team. You know, whoever depends on what sign you're seeing. But say, you know, you have a doula, whether that's a virtual doula or an in-person doula, shoot her a text and just say, "Hey, I'm starting to notice I'm having some contractions" or "I lost my mucus plug today." Something like that, just so that she's in the know of what's happening in your body. But again, send it not to be like, "Oh, and labor's about to start," but just say, "Hey, just wanting to let you know my body's gearing up."
The biggest thing here is again, to not want to overly invest too much mental energy in non-progressing contractions or signs. So say you want to time the contractions that are coming, they're very manageable. What I would suggest you do is time your contractions on like a contraction timer app for maximum of 30 minutes. So just so you can kind of get a sense of what the pattern is, how long the contractions are, how frequently they're coming, and some even allow you to rate the strength of the contraction.
And then you can send a screenshot of that to your doula just to again, get a baseline for what's happening. And then don't time them anymore unless you notice there's a big shift, like they feel much stronger, closer together, or something like that.
Another thing you can do during this phase is prioritize taking care of yourself. So I kind of mentioned, you know, resting, relaxing, hydrating, but at this point you could also get in an Epsom salt bath. Sometimes non-progressing contractions, if it's not real labor, if you get in an Epsom salt bath, it helps relax the uterine muscles to help those non-progressing contractions just stop, or take a relaxing shower. Just something to kind of take your mind off of that and to just relax.
And then another thing you could do is just distract yourself. Go watch a favorite movie or listen to some music or do something that you would enjoy that can take your mind off of this phase, because good chance that if you're just having these signs, the preliminary signs and the possible signs, labor may not be around the corner and you don't want to waste your mental, emotional, physical energy on a warmup instead of saving all of that for the real deal when you're actually in labor.
So speaking of that, let's now talk about the positive signs of labor. So if you are experiencing any of these signs, then we know labor is starting. So having progressing contractions.
This looks like having contractions that are getting longer, stronger, and closer together. So, you know, when I think longer contractions, generally if they're getting closer to like a minute, minute and a half, then we know we're more so in labor territory than if they were 30 to 45 seconds long or so.
This is a huge one. If you start to notice that the contractions are getting much stronger, that is a really good indication that this is actually labor instead of it being a prodromal or practice or a warmup labor. So especially if this is not your first baby, I find that with moms that have had previous pregnancies their labor may not have this classic labor pattern where they're coming super regularly or the contraction is lasting a very consistent amount of time, but I pay way more attention to: Are the contractions feeling much stronger than they were 30 minutes an hour ago?
So that's a really, really good sign. And then of course, if the contractions are getting closer together, that's another great sign that we are in true labor territory. And so a general rule of thumb is look for the 4-1-1 or 5-1-1 rule where contractions are coming every four to five minutes. The contraction is lasting at least a minute. And this has been happening for at least an hour.
So generally when contractions are in this pattern, we're looking at turning from early labor to active labor. And so if you're planning a home birth, you'll definitely want to let your team know, your midwife, your doula, whoever's coming to attend the birth, to start heading to you around that point. And if you're planning a birth center or hospital birth, this is about the time generally that you'll want to start making your way to your birthplace.
And then if you notice a large gush of amniotic fluid, so this is usually undeniable where you have copious amounts of fluid just pouring out of you. Again, wanting to use that same COAT acronym—color, odor, amount and time—to have as information for your provider to let them know what time your water broke. What was the color of the amniotic fluid? When you believed it broke, how much was it and is there any odor to it?
And then of course the final positive sign of labor is having cervical dilation. So your cervix will start to change and open. Having cervical dilation, meaning the cervix is thinning out, it's becoming softer. It's opening, dilating, and the cervix is starting to move more forward. So all of these signs, if you're having contractions and you're noticing that there's change, these are all signs that you are in labor.
Which of course you wouldn't know if you're dilating unless your provider is checking you. So don't stress about this. If you're just at home, definitely just look for those positive signs, having progressing contractions or generally following that 4-1-1 or 5-1-1 rule. And or your amniotic fluid is gushing.
And so what to do during this phase. This is when you'll really need to tap into the comfort measures and techniques. Breathing, massage, just moving around different labor positions. All of these things you'll want to tap into. And if you're unsure what that means, I do have a childbirth education course where I go over all of these things. So check that out.
This is the time to call your doula or your provider and let them know if you haven't already, let them know that you are starting labor or that you're in labor. And start getting your birth environment really set up. If you're laboring at home and you're having a home birth, you'll definitely at this point want to start getting your music playing. The lights dim, the birth pool ready, if that's what you're doing. Just really setting yourself up. And then of course, if you're laboring and delivering in a hospital or a birth center, start making your way to your birthplace if you haven't already, and get just the whole room set up so that you will be ready for this labor and birth.
I also highly suggest lightly eating, eat if you're hungry, especially if it's the time of day that you would normally be eating. If you wake up and you start labor, but you haven't had breakfast yet, if you can eat something, definitely do that. And prioritize protein, and just things that you know your body will tolerate well.
And continue to hydrate, especially if you are feeling weak or tired, or you just know you haven't been super hydrated up to that point. I suggest trying to take a sip of water or electrolyte, or having both available, after each contraction. And if it's hard to remember to do that, which it definitely is, have your doula, have your husband, have your midwife, whoever help remind you to take sips after contractions.
And then of course, you want to focus very deeply on remaining calm, relaxing every muscle, pretending you're a ragdoll, breathing in through the nose, out through the mouth, just focusing on relaxation and your breath, because everything else is pretty much out of your hands, your body will just take over.
Or if you're having an induction, the steps and processes there are going to encourage labor flow, but you can do your part by remaining calm, staying in just that instinctual brain instead of the overthinking, prefrontal cortex. You definitely don't want to be in a problem solving mindset. You want to just be in a very instinctual mindset.
So I'd love to read a verse of encouragement this comes out of Psalm 31, 14 through 15, and it says, "But I trust in you, Lord. I say, you are my God. My times are in your hands." And isn't that just so perfect? Especially if you're listening to this and you're having a lot of the warmup signs and you're just like, "Lord, when will this baby come?"
You might even be 42 weeks pregnant, and you're like, "I am so over being pregnant." Trust me, I get it. I never made it to 42 weeks. I always delivered before 41 weeks. But I know how rough it is towards the end. So give yourself that grace that the Lord has this timing, the start of this labor in his perfect and capable hands, so just giving that to him.
So I hope this episode has given you some clarity and peace about recognizing the signs of labor. And just remember that this birth is unique and God's timing is perfect, even when it doesn't feel like it to you. The most important thing I want you to take away from this is that you trust your body and trust your instincts.
You were fearfully and wonderfully made, and the same God who knit your baby together in your womb is equipping you with everything you need for this journey. So don't forget to grab that companion handout that I mentioned. It's going to be such a helpful resource for you, especially as you're getting closer to your due date. It's just nice to see it with your own eyes. So head over to faithoverfearbirth.com or like I said, click to the link in the show notes to sign up for that birth prep library.
And if this episode was helpful for you, would you please take just a moment to leave a review or rate the podcast for me? It helps so much for more mamas to find this information. So head over there please, if you don't mind, and just know that I'm praying for you as you prepare to meet your little one.
And before we go, I just want to go ahead and just say a prayer over you as you're preparing for this time. Lord Jesus, I just lift up this precious mama to you right now. You see her in this season of waiting, the discomfort, the wondering, the practice contractions that are just keeping her guessing. But father, you know, this is hard. Being pregnant is uncomfortable and not knowing when labor will begin can feel so overwhelming.
Give her peace in uncertainty and rest in her waiting. Remind her that you have equipped her body with everything it needs, and you have surrounded her with the support she needs for this journey.
Lord Jesus, please give her rest and when the time comes, give her strength and peace to birth her baby in your perfect timing. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
So I will see you next week for another episode, but until then, mama, you've got this. And more importantly, God's got you.
