Can you start dilating at 34 weeks pregnant

If the vaginal discharge changes, it's worth a quick call to your doctor. If you have a sudden gush of fluid—an indication that your water broke—you should call your doctor immediately. Any pregnant woman can experience preterm labor. However, certain factors increase your risk, including:.

Some women at high risk for preterm labor are given a belt with electronic sensors, which is strapped around the abdomen to detect early contractions. Once or twice a day, the monitor is hooked up to a telephone so it can relay graphs of uterine activity to a nurse. The goal of home monitoring is to detect preterm labor early, when it's most treatable. You're considered to be in preterm labor when you have uterine contractions every ten minutes or more often as well as cervical changes dilation, thinning, softening prior to 37 weeks gestation.

Your doctor might have difficulty determining whether you're truly in labor. They'll probably tell you to go to the hospital if you're not already there , where you can be monitored carefully.

Two tests—one that measures hormones in the saliva and another that measures vaginal secretions—can aid in diagnosing preterm labor. Doctors may do a swab of the cervix and vagina to test for a protein called fetal fibronectin. The March of Dimes explains, "Fetal fibronectin fFN is a protein produced during pregnancy and functions as a biological glue, attaching the fetal sac to the uterine lining.

The presence of fFN during weeks of a high-risk pregnancy , along with symptoms of labor, suggests that the 'glue' may be disintegrating ahead of schedule and alerts doctors to a possibility of preterm delivery. If your doctor determines that you are truly in labor, they'll probably attempt to halt it, unless it's not advisable for a medical reason. For instance, doctors might not stop preterm labor if they detect maternal high blood pressure , uterine bleeding because of a problem with the placenta, or fetal distress signals like a slowed heart rate.

In some cases, preterm labor can be treated to give your baby more time to grow. What does dilation mean? Dilation and labor. Other signs of labor. Lightening You may have heard that your baby will drop close to your due date. Mucous plug Your cervix protects your baby during pregnancy, and this includes your mucous plug.

Contractions If you feel your belly tighten and release, you may be experiencing practice contractions Braxton-Hicks , or the real deal. You may also feel contractions start in your back and wrap around your abdomen. Rupture of membranes One of the more classic labor signs is your water breaking.

When to call your doctor. The takeaway. Share on Pinterest. Parenthood Pregnancy 3rd Trimester. Braxton-Hicks Contractions vs.

Real Contractions. The Best Pregnancy Apps of Read this next. Practice Bulletin No. Reaffirmed Simhan HN, et al. Inhibition of acute preterm birth. Robinson JN, et al. Preterm birth: Risk factors, interventions for risk reduction, and maternal prognosis. DeCherney AH, et al.

Late pregnancy complications. Resnik R, et al. Preterm labor and birth. Elsevier; Frequently asked questions: Labor, delivery, and postpartum care FAQ How to tell when labor begins.

Wick MJ expert opinion. Mayo Clinic. Norwitz ER. Progesterone supplementation to reduce the risk of spontaneous preterm birth. Conde-Agudelo A, et al. Vaginal progesterone is as effective as cervical cerclage to prevent preterm birth in women with a singleton gestation, previous spontaneous preterm birth, and a short cervix: Updated indirect comparison meta-analysis.

Mayo Clinic Press Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic. The cervical opening also begins to widen, or dilate. A healthcare provider usually assesses the extent of dilation and effacement during routine visits. It is not uncommon for a doctor to consider 1 cm of dilation a sign of prelabor.

One woman may go from having a closed cervix to giving birth in a matter of hours, while another is 1—2 cm dilated for days or weeks. Some women do not experience any dilation until they go into active labor. This means that the cervix is completely closed initially, but it widens to 10 cm as labor progresses. It is especially common in first pregnancies.

For other women, especially those who have given birth before, dilation may start a few days or weeks before labor begins. Dilation alone is not considered a sign of labor. Anyone concerned about early dilation should speak with a doctor. The doctor will assess the extent of dilation and any other signs that labor is imminent. Many women experience contractions throughout a pregnancy.

These are common, though they can be concerning if a person is pregnant for the first time. When contractions happen before labor, the medical community calls them Braxton-Hicks contractions. The key differences between Braxton-Hicks and labor contractions involve their duration, frequency, and associated pain.

If contractions seem to occur randomly and they are painless, they are likely Braxton-Hicks contractions. Contractions that occur close to a due date are usually more frequent, longer-lasting, and painful. The time between contractions is an important indication of labor. When contractions start to occur regularly and cause pain, let a healthcare provider know. When pregnancy begins, a mucus plug seals the opening of the cervix. This plug will break apart and fall away as dilation progresses.