There is no other organ quite like the uterus. If men had such an organ they would brag about it. So should we.” – Ina May Gasken Let’s talk about the uterus. All of us lived inside one at some point of our lives. Many of us have the great luck to use ours to […]

Have you had a sneaking suspicion that your contractions get worse* at night? Maybe it feels like your pregnant body just wants to find another way to wake you up in the middle of the night. Maybe you haven’t felt them but wake up on feeling like you just ran a marathon. If you fall […]

When I was on bed rest, I wanted to see how much I could control my contractions by controlling my mental state each day. Could I directly tie my contraction frequency to the stress and anxiety I experienced? I started to study the patterns and quickly realized that I did have more control than I thought.

Will you recognize the early signs of labor? In collaboration with Lamaze Childbirth Educators, our Tip Sheet, Recognizing the Signs of Labor  breaks down the clues for every stage: signs that your body is preparing for labor, signs that labor will start soon, signs that labor has started and those for when baby is on […]

Our modern bodies continue to maintain a nocturnal birth rhythm. But are we messing with the natural rhythm by basking in unnatural light in the middle of labor? Why night-time labor could stall when you reach the hospital and what you can do about it.

There is one simple difference between Braxton Hicks and labor contractions: the end result. Have a baby?  Those were labor contractions. No baby?  Braxton Hicks. Ok, that’s not very helpful if you are trying to tell the two apart without a crystal ball on hand. But you can use a few tricks to tell Braxton […]

What are contractions? Contractions are a normal part of pregnancy and occur when the uterine muscle tightens and flexes, just like flexing any other muscle. In the end, uterine muscle contractions are what will help you in labor, pushing your baby down the birth canal and out into the world (woohoo!). But to many, decoding […]

Accurately timing contractions is the key to understanding what your contractions mean - are they just Braxton Hicks? A false alarm? LABOR?! Don't panic, we'll go over all the things you need to know to time and track contractions and figure out what it all means.

What are Braxton Hicks contractions? Braxton Hicks contractions are basically your run-of-the-mill, practice or “warm-up” contractions. Their job is to get your uterine muscle ready for labor. Braxton Hicks are also called non-labor contractions because they don’t directly lead to labor. Unlike true labor contractions, Braxton Hicks don’t dilate the cervix or cause the birth […]

We polled a few women to hear, in their own words, what different types of contractions feel like, from good old mild Braxton Hicks right up until those rumored “ring of fire” pushing contractions. Here’s what they told us.

Here you are at 38, 39, 40, maybe even 41 or 42 weeks pregnant. You’re emotional, excited, and ready to meet your baby. Let’s be honest—you’re probably also exhausted, uncomfortable and uber-tired of the endless trips to the bathroom. All you’ve got to do now is wait for labor to start… And while it seems […]

What does a contraction feel like? What are the differences between Braxton Hicks contractions and labor contractions? Am I in labor?

We asked our favorite midwife, OB/GYN, birth doula, and birth educator to help us answer these questions and share their own birth stories.