The two numbers you need
Frequency is measured from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next — not from the end of one to the start of the next. This is the most common timing error and it makes contractions look further apart than they are.
Duration is from the start to the end of a single contraction, measured by feel: it begins when the tightening starts to build and ends when the uterus is fully soft again.
Record both, plus how strong each one felt on a simple scale. Use a notes app, a contraction timer app or a sheet of paper — all work. Time for a full hour before drawing conclusions; three contractions is not a pattern.
How to feel a contraction properly
Place a hand on the upper part of your bump. A true contraction makes the whole uterus firm, like a tensed muscle, then release completely. It starts gradually, peaks, and fades. Braxton Hicks tightenings feel similar but are usually shorter, irregular, and ease when you change position, empty your bladder or drink water.
True labour versus false labour
- True labour: contractions become progressively closer together, longer and stronger. They continue whatever you do — walking, resting, showering. Pain is usually felt in the lower back and moves to the front and down the thighs. Often accompanied by a bloody show or loss of the mucus plug.
- False labour: irregular, no progression, often felt only at the front, and they settle with rest, hydration or a change of position.
The single most reliable sign is progression. Two hours of contractions that are getting closer and longer is labour; two hours of contractions at random intervals usually is not.
The stages, by the numbers
- Early labour: contractions every 5 to 20 minutes, lasting 30 to 45 seconds. Can last many hours, especially with a first baby. Stay home, eat lightly, sleep if it is night, walk if it is day.
- Active labour: every 3 to 5 minutes, lasting 45 to 60 seconds, strong enough that you cannot talk through them. This is when you go to hospital.
- Transition: every 2 to 3 minutes, lasting 60 to 90 seconds. Intense and usually short.
The 5-1-1 rule
Most hospitals advise a first-time mother to come in when contractions have been 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute each, consistently for 1 hour. If you have had a baby before, or you live far from the hospital, or you have had a fast previous labour, your doctor will usually give you an earlier threshold — ask for your own number at your 36-week visit rather than relying on the general rule.
Go in immediately, regardless of timing, if
- Your waters break — note the time, colour and smell. Green, brown or foul-smelling fluid needs immediate attention.
- You have any vaginal bleeding.
- Fetal movements have reduced or stopped.
- You have severe constant abdominal pain rather than waves.
- You have a headache with visual changes, upper abdominal pain or sudden swelling.
- You feel an urge to push, or the contractions are two minutes apart already.
- You are less than 37 weeks and having regular contractions.
What helps in early labour at home
Keep upright and moving, alternate walking with resting on a birth ball, use the extended-exhale breathing you practised, take a warm shower on your lower back, eat light carbohydrate and sip fluids, and empty your bladder every hour. Have someone else keep the timing log so you can focus on breathing.