Does any sign mean that labor is 24-48 hrs away?
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Kaely Harrod 0:01
You know, when you see information online, and because of your professional experience, or your personal experience, or your passion, or whatever it is, you just know that it's wrong. And you gotta say something about it. That is how today's episode came to be. The question officially is, Are there signs that labor is 24 to 48? hours away? Stay tuned to hear my answer. Okay, so this episode requires a little backstory, because I want you to hear what I am responding to. So, as a podcaster, as an online business person, I do SEO research, right. So I, I search questions that people are asking, I search like, you know, trying to figure out what are some things that people are most interested in, et cetera. And I stumbled across a number of lists that are definitive numbers, like seven signs, eight signs, 12, signs, 17 signs, that labor is going to start in the next 24 to 48 hours. I cannot even tell you how many of these I found, like a lot of them. And maybe you've already listened to my episode, one of my first episodes was, how do I know if labor is imminent? And I'm going to link that in the show notes. So if you have not listened to that one, go back and listen to that for sure. But my question today that I'm answering is, Are there signs that labor is 24 hours away? And the answer is no, there are not those signs. Now, I want to, of course, add some nuance to that, right? The frustration for me, as a doula, when I hear people say, or when I read like eight signs that labor is starting in the next 24 to 48 hours, is that is that there are actually not definitive signs that tell you that. Now, what sometimes happens is a person like loses part of their mucus plug or has some bloody show, or starts feeling like they need to get everything ready and like that, like nesting energy kind of thing. And then they go into labor. So for that person losing their mucus plug was a sign that 24 hours later, they were going to go into labor, that doesn't make that a sign for everybody who's pregnant. Right, that's my frustration around this is that, at the end of pregnancy, there's already this strong desire to know when it's going to happen, right? And how much longer you have. And there just are not signs that apply to everyone. That means that you're about to go into labor, there just aren't those signs. Now, that doesn't mean that there aren't signs to be excited about that are good signs that your body is preparing, but not a single one of them means you have 24 to 48 hours until birth. Okay. Listen to this quick message from our sponsor, and we'll be right back with the episode. The birth prep blueprint course is a guide from pregnancy to postpartum, giving you the competence to walk through this journey. However it might play out. It is pre recorded on demand content, so you do not have to fit your busy schedule around a class or meeting time. You can go back and revisit the lessons as much as you need to. And you can watch or listen to them on your own time. This curriculum has left many families feeling confident in their decisions, knowing what questions to ask their providers, and knowing when they should be concerned in all of these periods. One of the biggest parts of this work in terms of preparing families and walking through this journey is knowing that you have a guide to rely on and that's exactly what this class is. Students have told me they felt like I was walking them along a path to know what to watch for and what to not be worried about. Because you are here as a listener, you get the opportunity to have a 10% off discount on this class. That code is podcast. It is in the show notes as well along with the link to use to check out for the class I do really recommend that you go give it a look because it is going to make you feel more prepared calm and confident for your birthing experience. Now back to your episode. Okay, so if you have not yet listened to that episode that I already mentioned the how do I know if Labour is imminent? That talks about a couple of different signs, including losing your mucus plug, having some bloody show, having some changes gi wise, like having diarrhea or constipation, etc. That all of those things can in fact be signs that labor is near, right, they can all be signs that your body is preparing. But also you can have those signs and then stay pregnant for like a week or two weeks or three weeks. Right. So I just want to tell you a little story. And part of my frustration comes from this story, I'll be honest. But another part of it comes from the loads of clients that I've kind of tucked off a ledge when they are losing their minds, because they've had mucus discharge for two weeks. And they're still not pregnant or so still pregnant, not yet in labor, right. So my own first pregnancy, I had an 11 pound baby fun fact about me, my oldest child is a man child, he's 12. And he's five, seven, and wears like a men's 11 shoe. So he's huge. At birth, he was 11 pounds even so he's been huge his entire life right? Now, he probably because of his size, honestly, dilated me to three centimeters weeks before he was born. Now, I had a cervical exam around 37 weeks. And this is prior to me knowing much about anything about birth or pregnancy or anything. So I did not know that I didn't need to have cervical exams, I didn't know that I could decline a cervical exam. And now I would certainly do that if I was pregnant again, because of what happened. So I did a cervical exam, my doctor said, Oh, my gosh, you're three centimeters, you are going to have this baby any day. And I left that appointment like Yes. Oh my gosh, this kid is so heavy, we didn't know he was 11 pounds. I'm so ready to not be pregnant, right as so many people feel even saying to my mom who was supposed to be coming, like three weeks later, because she was going to be in town when I was middle week I was due and then stay for a little bit to help. Like you might be late, right? Like a baby might come before you get here because I'm already three centimeters, my body is like about to go into labor. I never ever, ever, ever, ever went into labor with him. Never. He was born via a scheduled C section because of another issue. Right before his due date. So I stayed completely pregnant, entirely pregnant without a single contraction for three weeks after being told you're gonna go into labor any day. And that is just incredibly discouraging, like really, really, really discouraging and exhausting to have happen. So that's part of my own frustration around this, admittedly, right? I fully admit that my own experience plays into this frustration. However, the number of times I've had clients say similar things to me like, Oh, my, my provider told me I am losing some mucus plug. And so any day now, and I'm like, you could be pregnant for two or three more weeks, like, please do not fixate on one sign. Because then mindset wise, you're not going to be in a great place when you go into labor. Right? And the reality is, we already have an underlying distrust of our bodies in many situations. And so in the midst of labor, we can kind of feel like, I don't know if my body can do this. I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I'm able, etc. And if you're not going into labor, when you think you should be that adds to that, right? Because you're kind of like, I mean, my body's not doing the right thing. I thought it was supposed to have the baby once I had the signs Why is my body not doing the right thing? Right. But that is not the case. Your body is not broken, it is not wrong and how it is managing this, it none of that is the case. You just are still in the warm up phase, and that's okay. All right. So that is my soapbox slash episode.
Kaely Harrod 9:51
And I just want to remind you to go back and listen to the other episode, because they go into a little bit more detail about each of the signs and what are the signs Beans and what do they mean? Etc, etc. So that's linked in the show notes. I also have a like one second quiz that is, who are you? Like? Are you a pregnant person? Are you like a friend of mine? Are you another birth worker? Because it's really helpful for me to understand who exactly is listening to the podcasts. And so that is linked in the show notes. And then if you have a question that you're hoping I cover in 2023, please send me a message on Instagram. Connect with me, send me that question. I would love to hear from you. And I would also really love to make sure that your question is on my list so that it can get answered in 2023. And you can have some information that's really helpful and pertinent to you. Okay, until next time, I wish you well informed consent filled birthing experiences. So all of this information is intended to be educational and entertainment. Please use it as such. And if you have questions about your own medical health, or need recommendations from your own provider, please do speak to them. This is not intended to replace them in any way. We are so happy that you are here joining us in this walk through pregnancy postpartum and lactation, please take a second to like and subscribe, leave a positive review. That is how other families get to hear about us and get to learn from all the answers that we have here on this podcast. As always, I would really love to connect with you. I love answering questions. I know that you know that because you are here, but I would love to hear what your questions are. So if I have not yet answered them on the podcast, I would love to add them to the list of questions to be answered. please do reach out to me on Instagram or via email Kaely at hurrah doula services.com so that I can answer whatever question you have, and so that I can hear the feedback that you have about the podcast. Until we meet again, I wish you well informed consent filled birth and postpartum experiences
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
This is a full on rant. I’m not going to lie. This episode is born of my frustration with the copious amounts of misinformation on this topic across the internet. If you were to search “signs of labor” or some such thing you will find a number of articles all saying something along the lines of “17 signs that labor is coming in the next 24-48 hrs”. Every time I see these I roll my eyes. Because if there were truly signs that labor is absolutely guaranteed to happen in the next 24-48 hrs that would be worth all the money in the world. But there is no such thing.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t possible physical signs that labor is drawing near, but none so exact that we know you have exactly 24-48 hrs before labor starts. I recommend you listen to this episode on signs labor is imminent to know what kinds of physical signs I’m speaking of.
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/kaely-daily-podcast/episode-4
Key Takeaways:
While physical signs of labor starting are encouraging they do not come with a specific timeline
One major component in mental preparation for labor is having a realistic mindset so as to lower stress, anxiety and frustration beforehand
Our desire for control leads us to want answers to the many parts of labor we don’t know, but that does not mean we can get those answers!
When and exactly how you will go into labor is one of the beautiful, but sometimes frustrating, bits of information that we will only learn when you are in fact in labor
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