About a week or two before labor begins, you may have certain hints that it is not far away. Slight, occasional twinges of pain may dart across your abdomen or lower back. The baby's head will usually engage in the pelvic cavity, causing the "lightening" effect mentioned earlier. You may notice a thick pink or red discharge, a sign that the protective mucous plug covering the cervix has been released, and your water may break, causing a gush or trickle of amniotic fluid. If your water breaks or you think it has broken, contact your obstetrical care provider immediately. This is important because there is a risk of infection once your water breaks, and your provider may want to induce (begin) labor to prevent this hazard.

Contact your obstetrical care provider if:

• You have contractions that last 30 to 70 seconds and come every five to 10 minutes for an hour.
• Your water breaks or you think it is leaking.
• You have any bleeding, whether you have pain or not.