Early labour - BSUH Maternity

Early labour is also known as the ‘latent phase’. It is the time when your body begins to prepare for ‘established’ labour. Whilst the latent phase can vary widely between different women it can be described as a period of time, not necessarily continuous where the womb begins to contract irregularly and causes the cervix to thin and start to open.

Remember, every woman’s labour is different and sometimes it can take a long time. This is normal. If you think you are in the early stages of labour the main thing to remember is to stay calm and relaxed if you can.

What can help during early labour?

Build a ‘nest’ to maintain a calm and tranquil environment.
Try to continue your normal routine. If it’s day time potter about and try to nap, if it’s night time try to get some sleep.
Eat little and often if you can and try to keep well hydrated to help keep your energy levels up.
A warm bath can help you to relax and ease lower back pain.
Try and distract yourself by listening to music or watching a film.
Try using a tens machine.
Focus on your breathing. As the sensation builds try to make your out-breaths as long as possible.

When should I contact a midwife?

Whether you are having your baby at home or in one of our hospitals you will need to contact maternity triage.

You can contact maternity triage at any time of day or night, we are here to offer you support and advice.

Reasons to contact maternity triage:

You feel the labour is progressing. The frequency of the contractions is increasing; they are regular and longer lasting.
You think your waters have broken. This can feel like a gush of fluid or a slow leak. If you think your waters have broken put a pad in your underwear so that the colour of the fluid can be observed.
Your baby’s movements have slowed down or stopped.
You are bleeding.
You need any advice or support.

The midwife will talk to you about what’s been happening and assess you over the phone. The midwife might encourage you to stay at home if you are coping well and feel happy to. If you have planned a home birth the triage midwife will contact the home birth midwife for you. If you come to hospital too early the midwife might advise for you to go home to await events. These decisions will always be made jointly between you and the midwife.

We know that women in the early stages of labour tend to progress better at home in a safe and familiar environment, with people they know and trust. This helps your body to produce the hormone oxytocin, also known as the ‘love’ hormone which will keep your labour progressing. This is why physical and mental relaxation is so important during the early stages of labour to stop your body going into a ‘fight or flight’ mode which may halt, or even stop your labour altogether.

Further information

Pin It on Pinterest