Timing contractions: What Information to Record

Timing contractions gives your maternity team a clearer description of what is happening. It cannot measure how far the cervix has opened, check the baby’s wellbeing or decide whether it is safe to stay home. Follow your own maternity plan and call whenever you are worried.

Measure length and spacing separately

For duration, note when one contraction begins and when that same contraction finishes. For spacing, measure from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next. The rest between contractions is different from their spacing.

For example, a contraction beginning at 10:00 and ending at 10:01 lasts one minute. If the next begins at 10:05, the starts are five minutes apart. This is an example of recording, not a rule about when you should travel to hospital.

Add details a stopwatch cannot capture

Tell the midwife whether contractions are getting stronger, whether pain eases between them and how you are coping. Include how many weeks pregnant you are, whether your waters may have broken, any bleeding and whether your baby is moving as usual.

Mention previous fast births, your travel time and any instructions already given by your team. These can affect the advice you receive. Our guide to practice and labour contractions explains why an irregular pattern does not always settle the question.

Avoid treating an app as permission to wait

Your unit may give you a contraction pattern at which to call. That advice applies alongside your symptoms and individual circumstances. You do not need a perfect record or a full hour of measurements before asking for help.

Call maternity triage immediately if your waters break, you have vaginal bleeding, your baby’s movements reduce or change, or you think labour is starting before 37 weeks. Also call immediately for severe ongoing pain, a contraction lasting more than two minutes or six or more contractions in ten minutes. If the baby seems to be coming now with a strong urge to push, call emergency services.

Make recording manageable

A clock and brief notes can be enough. A support person can help if watching the timer makes it harder to relax. Record a useful sample and describe the trend rather than trying to produce a flawless chart.

When you call, ask what to do next and what should trigger another call. If staying home is appropriate, the early labour at home guide offers ways to organise support while following the team’s instructions.