Your baby's new position may put added pressure on your pelvis and bladder. So you may be used to frequent urination as a pregnancy symptom, but even more frequent urination is a potential sign of labor to come.
After dilation, your urethra may be sore at first. It may burn when you urinate. You may feel the need to urinate more often, and you may have some blood in your urine. These symptoms should get better in 1 or 2 days.
At 38 weeks pregnant, here are some of the symptoms you may be experiencing: Frequent urination. As your baby and uterus grow, they're putting more pressure on your bladder, so you may need to go to the bathroom more often.
You may need to urinate more often because the baby is pressing on your bladder. For first-time mothers, lightening often happens a few weeks before birth.
An increased urge to urinate
An increased urge to urinate can be a result of the baby's head dropping into the pelvis. The low position of the baby's head puts even more pressure on the urinary bladder, so many women approaching labor might feel a frequent need to urinate.
Dropping or lightening occurs when the head of the baby “drops” into the pelvis. The belly seems to appear lower and women can breathe with ease as the baby does not cause pressure on the mother's lungs. However, frequent urination is possible as the baby presses the bladder.
Your uterus – situated directly behind your bladder – becomes larger to accommodate your growing baby and as a result, it pushes against your bladder. For some women, weak pelvic floor muscles are another cause of frequent urination during pregnancy.
Some of the most common things women experience when labor is 24 hours away are cramps and contractions. You might feel that your stomach is becoming tight and may experience discomfort in your lower back. Along with that, you might also experience cramps in your pelvic area.
The amount of blood in your body nearly doubles during pregnancy. This means there's more fluid for your kidneys to process. Your kidneys get more efficient at getting rid of waste, which means your bladder will fill up more often – and you'll need to empty it more often.
There are no signs that your water is going to break; however, most people will be in labor and have contractions before their water breaks. So, if you're in labor and experiencing contractions, your water can break at any moment.
Dilation is checked during a pelvic exam and measured in centimeters (cm), from 0 cm (no dilation) to 10 cm (fully dilated). Typically, if you're 4 cm dilated, you're in the active stage of labor; if you're fully dilated, you're ready to start pushing.
Know the signs
contractions or tightenings. a "show", when the plug of mucus from your cervix (entrance to your womb, or uterus) comes away. backache. an urge to go to the toilet, which is caused by your baby's head pressing on your bowel.
In the days before labour starts, you might notice some subtle signs. It can be hard to tell them apart from your normal pregnancy discomforts. You might notice a change in the discharge from your vagina or a few cramps in your abdomen. You may have a low, dull ache in your back that can come and go.
Pressure in your pelvis or lower belly, like your baby is pushing down. Constant low, dull backache. Belly cramps with or without diarrhea. Regular or frequent contractions that make your belly tighten like a fist.
As your baby moves down, you might feel pressure in your pelvic area, experience backaches, and have to urinate more often. Loose bowel movements can happen 24–48 hours before labor. Nesting is a spurt of energy some women may experience before labor begins.
Frequent urination is a common early pregnancy symptom, but it can also reappear later on during pregnancy as your uterus and baby grow, putting pressure on your bladder. Although it can definitely be annoying, in most cases, it's nothing to worry about.
Do contractions make you feel like you have to poop? For lots of women we surveyed, yes. The most common analogy moms used to describe the sensation of the pressure they felt during labor (even before the pushing stage) – all decorum aside – was thinking about having to poop.
A bloody show is a common symptom during late pregnancy when a small amount of blood and mucus is released from the vagina. A bloody show occurs because the cervix starts to soften and thin (efface) and widen (dilate) in preparation for labor. When your cervix dilates, it's making room for your baby to pass through.
This occurs because your hormones change at the end of your pregnancy—which is why losing your mucus plug often means labor is starting or your body is preparing for labor. That naturally prompts the question, “Can you dilate without losing your mucus plug?” The answer is no.
Once your pregnancy is full term (at 39 weeks of pregnancy), seeing a mucus-like discharge is also normal. This is the mucus plug, which is described below in more detail.
Because your uterus rests on your bladder more after lightening, you might also feel the need to urinate more frequently. You might notice that you're not as short of breath once your baby drops.