First, let’s define early labor. Early labor is labor prior to 6 centimeters dilation.

During early labor:

• You may experience contractions which are inconsistent in length and intensity.

• You can often maintain conversations

• You may dilate some and then stop dilating

• You may experience other cervical changes: effacement, softening, position, and station

• You may experience painful contractions or you may experience only mild contractions

• Early labor may last minutes, hours, days, or weeks

• The speed at which you dilate in early labor is not indicative of what your body will do in active labor

• Your body is helping your baby achieve an optimal position

• Your uterus is exercising to prepare for the “real deal”

• Your body is preparing you mentally for what is to come

As you can see from the information above, the individual experiences of early labor sensations and length can be dramatically different. Keep in communication with your provider (midwife or physician) and doula about your experience. Support may be from afar, but can definitely help you stay in a good mindset, understand when intervention may be necessary, and to help you get to a mental and physical state where labor can progress more consistently.

Many people are fine to continue many of their regular activities. Some people need to pause periodically for a few minutes or hours due to contractions becoming intense for short or long periods of time. The best plan is to let your body progress at it’s own rate, even if that is slower than you would like. The goal during this phase is to stay relaxed, rested, and well nourished so that your body can do what it needs to do. You may be understandably anxious to meet your baby, but I can assure you that you will have your baby soon. Try to acknowledge these feelings and let them pass. It can be a challenge to let labor progress at it’s own rate, but often a slower start to labor means that your baby and body need a little time.

Here are some tips to get you through this phase:

• Deep slow breathing - allowing your rib cage to expand, your pelvic floor and belly should move out on inhale and in on exhale

• Music - anything that is relaxing to you

• Aromatherapy - on a cotton ball or washcloth ideally so that a smell that becomes noxious can be removed from your space

• Eat and drink - seriously hydrate and nourish yourself to keep your energy up, especially if labor is moving along slowly

• Nap - yep, some people can and should sleep during labor, active labor is usually too intense, so this is the time

If early labor is steady, but long:

Allowing early labor to progress at it’s own rate gives more time for your baby to move into a better position, but there are also some positions that are helpful for encouraging better positioning.

• Lunge

  Yep, I know lunges seem like an intense exercise during labor, but they can be really helpful for opening up the pelvis and allowing baby to adjust their head. It is called an asynclitic position when baby is not positioned optimally. Opening one side of the pelvis allows the baby to rotate to a better position so that your body can respond better. Most of the time, a good rule of thumb is to lunge to the side which is more comfortable and hold this position through the contraction. Rest in standing between contractions

• Squat

  Squatting can actually be really relaxing during labor. Similar to lunges, you want to hold the position through the contraction and relax. Squatting with a support bar at the hospital or birth center, squatting with your back against the wall, squatting while holding hands (arms crossed) with your support person, or any other supported squat position you can think of. What matters is your hip position and your ability to relax.

• Sidelying

  Lying on your side, and alternating sides about every 20 minutes (while awake! Do not wake a laboring person, let them sleep if they can and have them roll over later). Changing the direction gravity is pulling your baby within your body can be really helpful for allowing baby to get into a better position.