Before childbirth, a lot of interesting things happen in a woman's body: the hormonal background, the condition of muscles, ligaments change, psychological changes occur, and all this cannot go unnoticed. Internal processes always find their external reflection. These manifestations are usually called "harbingers".
In primiparous women and multiparous women, signs of an imminent onset of labor may differ, and therefore the question of how to recognize the approach of labor is equally relevant for those who give birth for the first time, and for those who are going to the hospital for the next baby. In this article, we will talk about how a second-bearing woman can recognize the signs of an imminent birth.
Features:
Before considering the precursors and signs of approaching childbirth, it should be noted that repeated pregnancy has its own characteristics that leave an imprint on both the nature and the time of the onset of the precursors.
In the second pregnancy, the woman is calmer. She already knows in general terms what is coming, and therefore less sensitively listens to her body. This calmness also affects the course of the prenatal period - in recent weeks, women are less focused on what and how it got sick, twisted, dragged on. They distinguish training fights well from real ones.
Physiologically, the second pregnancy also takes place in different conditions. The muscles of the uterus, cervix, perineum are less elastic, and therefore labor usually begins somewhat earlier than during the first pregnancy, while the precursors themselves appear much later than in primiparous. So, a woman expecting the birth of her first child may begin to feel signs of approaching childbirth a month before those, and similar signs in an already experienced mother may appear just a few days before the birth of the baby.
All the sensations in those giving birth are not the first time, they can be more dull, smoothed, not as noticeable and vivid as in expectation of the first child. For this reason, some women claim that they almost did not experience any harbingers, just on a certain day, labor began. This also cannot be ruled out.
When to expect?
In anticipation of the second birth, women usually already know that there is no single standard time frame that could mark the beginning of prenatal preparation in the body. Most often, those who are going to give birth to a second baby, some characteristic signs begin to appear in the period from 36-37 weeks of pregnancy, as well as 38-39 weeks. The second pregnancy is rarely carried out before 40-41 weeks.
According to statistics, on the expected day of birth (the same PDR), second births occur in no more than 5% of cases. The overwhelming majority of children, to the delight of their mothers and brothers-sisters who are already raised in a family, decide to appear at 38-39 weeks of pregnancy, and there are about 70% of them. Pregnancy lasts longer than 40 weeks in about 2% of women, and before 38 weeks, about 10% of babies are born. The rest choose for themselves the last week before PDD and are born at 39 full weeks plus a few days.
What's going on in the body?
Before giving birth, violent processes begin in the body of the expectant mother, which, in fact, complete the long preparation for the appearance of offspring. The final stage includes a lot of changes that become physically tangible. The hormonal background is changing: if progesterone is "guided" by progesterone throughout pregnancy from the very beginning and almost to the very end, then by the time of childbirth its concentration begins to decrease noticeably.
The dominance of this hormone is replaced by other hormones necessary for the onset of labor: oxytocin and estrogens. Under the influence of these hormones, the cervix begins to prepare for childbirth - it becomes shorter, its contours are smoothed out, the round muscle softens. During this period, training contractions can become more frequent and more noticeable.
Relaxin begins to be produced, it softens the ligaments and joints, makes the pelvic bones more mobile and pliable, in connection with which the pubic bone may begin to ache in a woman, pulling weak pains in the sacrum, in the lower back, and back aches may appear. The nature of vaginal discharge changes, they become more abundant. And as the neck softens and ripens, the mucous plug may begin to move away.
The hormonal background, which controls many processes in the body, does not bypass the psychological state. The influence of hormones on the brain and nervous system is great. The changed balance of these active substances leads to a change in the emotional background.
It is necessary to evaluate the precursors not one at a time, but in aggregate, this is the only way to guess that large-scale prenatal preparation is in full swing, and is already nearing its logical conclusion.
Approach symptoms
Signs of the approach of the generic process can be subjective and objective. The former are of an emotional color, and cannot serve as a basis to assert that childbirth will take place soon, while the latter have a more substantiated medical origin, and therefore are taken into account by obstetricians-gynecologists.
The former include mood swings, psychological instability, anxiety and insomnia, pains of various kinds. The second group can be safely attributed to the discharge of the mucous plug, the cervix reaching a certain degree of maturity, and abdominal prolapse. It is worth talking about the first harbingers in more detail.
Abdominal prolapse
A woman may well remember that in the first pregnancy, the tummy became lower long before the onset of labor. In the second pregnancy, there is every chance that this will not happen. The baby takes the most convenient position in the uterus for birth when all the conditions favorable to it are met. In "second-borns", abdominal prolapse occurs most often 1-3 days before childbirth, and in some (and there are many of them!), The abdomen sinks already with the onset of full-fledged labor contractions.
It is quite easy to understand that the stomach has dropped. When the baby presses the head against the exit to the small pelvis, takes the "starting" position, the woman becomes freer and easier to breathe, since the pregnant uterus stops squeezing the ribs and diaphragm, heartburn may decrease, but urination usually becomes more frequent, as the pressure on the bladder increases. This pressure can partly explain the greater likelihood of constipation. It becomes more difficult for a woman to move, the pubic bone and pelvic bones are more often sore, although fetal movements become more rare and less painful in themselves.
The belly during the second pregnancy may not go down by 38-39 weeks of pregnancy in women carrying multiple pregnancies, in those whose babies are located in the uterus not in the head, but in a different position, as well as in women with diagnosed polyhydramnios. There are also idiopathic reasons (that is, inexplicable, from the point of view of medicine and science), which also prevent abdominal prolapse for no apparent reason. This process is very individual, and in relation to all pregnant women, it cannot serve as an unambiguous sign of approaching labor.
Weight loss
Weight loss of 2-3 kilograms shortly before delivery is physiologically justified. With a decrease in the level of progesterone, which provided the accumulation of fluid and nutrients in the body, the amount of fluid in the tissues begins to decrease. A decrease in the amount of amniotic fluid also plays a role - this is necessary to equalize the pressure inside the fetal bladder, because if the amount of water remains unchanged, and the child continues to gain weight (which he is actively engaged in in the last weeks of intrauterine stay), then the membranes are under pressure may burst. Therefore, the amount of amniotic fluid tactfully decreases.
Nature arranged it in such a way that before childbirth, the body must “relieve itself”, get rid of all unnecessary things. And all internal processes act in accordance with this biological program: internal fluid reserves decrease, frequent urination does not allow fluid to linger for a long time, and diarrhea, which appears in about 70% of women a few days before childbirth, is a "final chord", and weight decreases ...
This harbinger may not appear in women with kidney pathologies, with gestosis, and multiple pregnancies. It is not considered an effective diagnostic sign and only as a small touch usually complements the overall picture of precursors.
If diarrhea appears and weight has dropped sharply without other signs of preparation for childbirth, you must definitely visit a doctor, it is possible that the case is in poisoning, bowel disease, abnormal condition of the stomach, pancreas or liver. Diarrhea is especially dangerous in combination with vomiting - in pregnant women, dehydration can occur quite quickly.
Cork release
This is a reliable sign that childbirth is just around the corner. The mucous plug during the entire period of bearing a child closes the uterine cavity from possible penetration of foreign and hostile organisms into it: microbes, viruses, fungi. It is located inside the cervix, in the cervical canal.
As the neck smooths out, the cervical canal expands and at some point passes the "point of no return" - the plug can no longer be held in the canal and begins to leave it, in parts or in whole. Partial discharge of the mucous plug is manifested by mucous jelly-like particles in the secretions, sometimes small blotches of blood can be seen in them. Complete discharge rarely raises questions - a rather large clot of mucus of a yellowish, beige, milky hue with or without brown streaks of caked blood comes out of the genital tract.
Usually, during the second birth, the cork leaves 1-2 days before the onset of labor, but often already in the process of childbirth in their first stage, together with or before the amniotic fluid. The symptom cannot always be diagnosed independently. The plug in multiparous can go away imperceptibly: during bowel movements or urination, while taking a bath.
If a woman noticed a lump of mucus and realized that the cork had come off, from that moment on she should be ready at any time to go to the hospital. You cannot have sex, take a bath, since the cervical canal is expanded and not closed - any infection can enter the uterine cavity.
Nesting Syndrome
This is a subjective sign, noticed for a long time, and tested in practice by many generations of women. In this case, the term “syndrome” does not mean something pathological or painful. It's about a strange obsession with putting things in order and cleanliness in their home. A woman usually falls into such a state (by the way, characteristic of many mammals in nature) a week or two before giving birth. The pregnant woman has a "second wind" - yesterday she suffered from heaviness and aches in the lower back, and today she unexpectedly washed all the windows in the apartment, once again stroked the children's things that were already laid out in anticipation of the arrival of the baby from the hospital, cleaned the carpet, and made a lot of all that, for which there was not enough strength in recent months.
The presence of such a precursor sign can be explained only by instincts. Representatives of many species in nature have a home arrangement (nests, hollows, holes) before breeding offspring. This is the mother's unconscious desire to create the most favorable conditions for the offspring.
If a woman does not have such a sign, the due date of childbirth is approaching, and the desire to move the piano or rearrange the house on her own does not appear, do not be upset - the absence of the ancient natural instinct of "nesting" does not mean that a woman will be a bad mother.
If the desire to restore order has arisen, you should not resist it. Cleaning and beauty treatment makes a woman's emotional state positive, she stops worrying and worrying, focuses on positive experiences.
Colostrum and everything related to the breast
Colostrum excretion is not a very informative indicator. In the first pregnancy, colostrum actually begins to be produced almost before childbirth, and in some even after childbirth. In second-birth women, colostrum can begin to be produced in the first trimester, and in the second, and at the end of gestation. It all depends on how high the concentration of prolactin is in the body, how expanded the ducts of the mammary glands after feeding the first child.
Only if during the entire pregnancy no colostrum was released, and a few weeks before the expected date of birth, such a symptom appeared, can it be considered an indirect harbinger of imminent labor.
After the appearance of colostrum, a woman needs to be extremely careful about the health of her mammary glands - colostrum is a favorable environment for the reproduction of pathogenic bacteria. In order to prevent infection, care must be taken to ensure that after childbirth to provide the baby with unhindered breastfeeding, not burdened by any pathologies on the part of the female body. Every day, you need to wash the mammary glands and especially the nipples 1-2 times with warm water without soap, blot with a towel.
If there is a lot of colostrum, and it stains clothes, you should wear a special bra for nursing mothers with pockets for inserts that will effectively absorb excess nutrient fluid, which is the prototype of breast milk.
Decreased fetal motor activity
Often in their responses, women note that the child has become inactive shortly before childbirth. It really is. But this fact is connected not so much with the approach of childbirth, but with the fact that there is almost no room in the uterus for active movements. The baby is in very cramped conditions, and he himself feels the need to leave the womb.
Another reason that exists only as an assumption is the preparation of the baby himself. For him, childbirth will also be a serious test, and therefore he begins to save energy in advance for his own birth.
The question of when this happens is difficult to answer unequivocally, or more honestly, traditional medicine has no answer at all. Most often, according to the reviews of women in labor, babies become less mobile and active about 3-4 days before delivery.
It is important to remain vigilant here. Despite the physiological "lull", the woman should continue to count the movements of the crumbs.
If they are not there for 12 hours, or if there are less than 10 of them during this period, you should definitely notify your doctor about your observations, because problems associated with oxygen starvation of the fetus, which will require urgent delivery, are not excluded.
Psychological condition, insomnia
Very often, women who are soon to give birth are faced with the fact that the mood begins to change spontaneously: from laughter, a woman very quickly (and completely sincerely!) Turns to tears, anxiety, melancholy. The condition is slightly similar to that which is observed in most pregnant women in the early stages due to the progesterone raging in the body. Often, a few days before childbirth, insomnia begins - the pregnant woman can hardly sleep.
What are the reasons for such changes? First of all, with hormones, and secondly, with increasing stress. The closer to childbirth, the more worried the expectant mother. The inability to sleep soundly and calmly at night can also be associated with physical inconvenience - it is difficult to find a position in which sleep will be comfortable; when you roll over on the other side, awakening is almost inevitable.
Before giving birth, be sure to calm down and get enough sleep. Strength will be required during the birth of the baby, the woman should be vigorous, besides lack of sleep and lack of rest before childbirth increases the likelihood of problems with blood pressure during childbirth, which can significantly complicate the situation.
When such symptoms appear, you should not endure and harass yourself. Your doctor is always ready to tell you what light herbal sedatives you can take so that your mood does not "jump". A properly chosen posture for a night's rest, as well as a well-ventilated room, an evening walk in the fresh air, and the absence of a plentiful and hearty dinner, will help improve the quality of sleep.
Strengthening training contractions
If during the second half of pregnancy a woman experienced short-term and spontaneous tension of the muscles of the uterus, the so-called false or training contractions, then such contractions can increase about a week before childbirth. If there were no false contractions in the process of bearing a fetus, then during the same period of time they may appear for the first time. They are manifested by a feeling of petrification of the abdomen. It is easy to cope with them - it is enough to take a warm shower, an anesthetic pill, change body position, walk, breathe deeply.
Training contractions are not regular, do not increase, and do not lead to cervical dilatation. And this is the main thing that distinguishes them from real labor pains.
Ripening of the neck
This "marker" of the readiness of the female body for childbirth, perhaps, is considered the most informative, but it's almost impossible to evaluate it yourself, without the help of an obstetrician-gynecologist. The neck is a round muscle, its maturation consists in softening, which will provide the proper degree of disclosure during labor pains. A decrease in the size of the cervix to 1-1.5 cm indicates that maturation is in full swing, and is almost complete. Already with the onset of labor pains, the cervix will flatten out completely and open, opening the baby's exit from the uterus into the genital tract, and from there into the big world, in which he will live a long and certainly happy life.
The ripening process may not be accompanied by any special sensations, but may be manifested by tingling inside, an increase in the amount of vaginal discharge. If the due date is right, and the cervix is not ripe, the woman is hospitalized in the maternity hospital and the cervix is prepared there with the help of medications that contribute to its early softening.
If this is not done, childbirth may be complicated by primary birth weakness, in which contractions will appear, and, alas, disclosure will not occur. In this case, the woman is stimulated, and in the absence of the desired effect, an emergency caesarean section is performed.
Other signs
This category includes signs that are not so common, and clearly not in the vast majority of pregnant women. But it is possible that it is you who may manifest one of these precursors: a feeling of chills and an increase in body temperature without signs of a cold or other illness, an increase or decrease in sexual appetite, a violation of eating habits. For example, if you wanted something sweet, you can sharply pull for sour or salty, or your appetite disappears completely, or, on the contrary, a woman begins to want to eat constantly. Severe itching of the skin may also appear - this is a consequence of the reaction of the nervous system.
What to do in case of absence or early attack?
Since the harbingers directly depend not only on the internal restructuring of the body before childbirth, but also on the individual sensitivity of each individual woman, the absence of symptoms of approaching labor can also be considered quite normal.
If there are no symptoms, do not assume that labor is delayed. Labor activity can begin at any time after 37 weeks, and therefore you should not move far from home, go on vacation or fly by plane. Labor can begin not only with contractions, but also with the discharge of water. You need to be extremely careful even in the complete absence of precursors in principle.
It may happen that the signs may appear at about the same time as during the first pregnancy, that is, at 36 weeks. This situation requires compulsory medical advice, since precursors can be signs of the approach of premature birth.
How will labor start?
Labor begins in different ways. With the second birth, it is not at all necessary that the scenario of the first will repeat itself, there is no relationship here. When regular, periodically recurring uterine contractions appear, you need to wait until their frequency reaches one contraction in 10 minutes, and go to the hospital. You should not wait for a five-minute interval, as in the first birth, because all stages of labor in multiparous women proceed faster.
If you have moved away or started to leak water, then you do not need to wait at all. Regardless of whether there are contractions or not, it is worth going to the obstetric institution. The same requirement applies to the situation with spotting. Both the anhydrous period and problems with placental abruption, which can be manifested by bleeding, can be very dangerous for a woman and her long-awaited baby.
If, with the appearance of regular contractions, the woman's condition worsened, vomiting, severe dizziness appeared, and you should not wait for more severe contractions, you need to come to the hospital as soon as possible.
If the waters have departed without contractions, the woman must necessarily inform the doctor in the maternity hospital what color they were, this will provide an invaluable service in diagnosing the condition of the fetus, and can play a decisive role in choosing the tactics of managing childbirth.
For the precursors and signs of an impending birth, see the next video.
