Backache and period pain
Mucus plug or bloody show
Vomiting - feeling nauseated
Diarrhoea
Cervix ripening, thinning, opening
Backache and period pain
During prelabour many women feel lower backache or dull throbbing pain, similar to period cramping. This discomfort can come and go, or it may be there all the time. This prelabour sign usually means the cervix is softening and ripening as the baby
engages (or perhaps because the baby is in a
posterior position - with their back is towards their mother's spine). Some women feel backache from their pelvis moving and shifting with relaxed pelvic ligaments. This pelvic flexibility allows your bones to open slightly in readiness for labour and the birth of your baby.
If you are feeling backache during the evening or night, try a heat pack or hot water bottle and return to bed. If you are unable to sleep, try just resting or perhaps some suggestions in
Insomnia during Pregnancy. If you are feeling achy during the day, rest as you need to or try and carry on as normal. Some women go out with friends, others stay close to home. It is important to keep your fluids up and eat, remember.......it is just the beginning. You may also wish to read
how to make up heat packs.
Mucus plug or bloody show
During pregnancy a woman's cervix produces thick mucus, filling the opening to act as a plug to seal the uterus. Towards the end of pregnancy, the cervix may start to thin and soften, sometimes releasing this mucus plug, known as a show. The show can come away during prelabour but it is not necessary for this to happen. More often than not, the show comes away during strong established labour, or when the cervix is fully dilated just before the pushing phase of labour. Also, you don't necessarily need to have a show if your waters break.
A show may present itself as: