Bit and pieces of Labor...

The scene starts at 2:07, the actual line: 3:00

Remember how I was talking about that I was afraid that I wouldn't know when I was going into labor?

After the birth of my son I had a good laugh. I like to compare my life to that of Mona Lisa Vito from My Cousin Vinny. NO! The defense is wroooong!

So, I got to thinking about false labor vs. real labor. Those of you who haven't gotten there yet...here's how my internal dialog went like this to pass the time while we waited for Maks to come back to my room:

Sarah Lisa Vito:  The real labor that made these equal-duration contractions were accompanied by stomach flu-like symptoms. You don't have these symptoms in false labor! 


Todd Gambini: And why not? What do the stomach flu-like symptoms feel like?


Sarah Lisa Vito: It's a electric-like, pulsating sensation which distributes the most intense sensations equally to both the front and rear of the body. Maksim's false labor had a regular, non-painful contractions, which, anyone who's been stuck at 7cms dilated for five hours in May without an epidural knows, you have a false labor contraction, they're very different, they don't hurt. 


[the jury members nod, with murmurs of "yes," "that's right," etc] 


Todd Gambini: Is that it? 


Sarah Lisa Vito:No, there's more! You see? When real labor starts your bowels may evacuate and sometimes your water breaks. False labor has solid contractions, but they're not painful so the belly hardens but no other progression is made. But that doesn't happen in real labor. The belly hardens and the contractions become more painful. These contractions help engage the baby in the pelvis. Now, since there are only two types of labor that have contractions, and enough power to help move the baby out- one is false labor, which could NEVER be confused with the real labor. 


Todd Gambini: And because both labors are made during pregnancy, were both labors available in the third trimester?


Sarah Lisa Vito: They are! 




OK- so it's a little rough. But the "you'll know" when real labor starts...isn't fake. No matter how good your pregnancy was. 


More to come...