Dear Aunty Tina, How can I tell if it is real labor or false labor?
A mucus plug is one of the first real signs of labor.
If you are having contractions that are longer or shorter than a minute, that are erratic and are not accompanied by a pink tinge or mucus plug it is probably false labor. To really tell take a warm bath, if the contractions stop they are false.
False labor can be felt a month or even the day before real labor starts and is your body’s way of preparing for the real deal. They are different to Braxton Hicks or prodromal labor as false labor can be very uncomfortable, with usually only one set of muscles contracting as apposed to the uniform contraction of all three.
