Is this it?
Am I in labor?
Real labor or practice (Braxton-Hicks) contractions? Answer a few questions and this private checklist compares your signs against ACOG's true-vs-false labor guide — are the contractions regular, getting closer, getting stronger, and refusing to ease when you rest? You'll get a lean read and a clear next step, and nothing you enter leaves your device.
A checklist can point you, but it can't examine your cervix. If you're ever unsure, that's reason enough to call your provider.
True vs. false labor checker
Skip the checklist and call your provider now if your water has broken, you have vaginal bleeding, you're having regular contractions before 37 weeks, your baby is moving less than usual, or anything feels wrong. Go to labor & delivery if you can't reach them. You will never be wasting anyone's time.
Based on ACOG's true-vs-false labor guidance. This is a lean read, not a diagnosis, and never a substitute for a cervical exam. When in doubt, call your provider.
How to tell them apart
True labor vs. false (Braxton-Hicks) labor
Late in pregnancy the uterus practices with Braxton-Hicks contractions — irregular tightenings that can feel convincingly like the real thing. ACOG's way to sort real labor from false labor comes down to the pattern, not any single contraction: real labor is regular, gets closer together, steadily strengthens, keeps coming whatever you do, and is often felt from the back to the front. False labor is irregular, doesn't get closer, stays weak, and eases when you move or rest.
The single most useful move is to time them over an hour while you change position, empty your bladder, drink water, and rest. Practice contractions tend to fade with that; true labor doesn't. That's the trend this checklist reads — and it's why the contraction timer is the natural next step.
| Sign | False (practice) labor | True labor |
|---|---|---|
| Timing | Irregular, and they don't get closer together | Regular, and they get closer together over time |
| Strength | Usually weak — they may stay the same or fade away | Steadily stronger and longer, harder to talk through |
| With movement or rest | Often ease when you walk, rest, or change position | Keep coming no matter what you do |
| Where you feel them | Often felt only in the front | Often start in the back and wrap around to the front |
Beyond contractions
The other signs of labor
Contractions are only part of the picture. ACOG lists a handful of other signs — some are reasons to call right away, and one can only be found by a cervical exam.
Your water breaks
A gush or a slow trickle of fluid you can't hold back means the amniotic sac has ruptured. Call your provider even if contractions haven't started — and note the time, color, and smell of the fluid.
A “bloody show”
As the cervix begins to open, the mucus plug can come away as a thick blob or as pink or blood-tinged mucus. It can happen days before labor or as it starts. Bright red bleeding is different — that's a call-now.
The cervix effaces and dilates
True labor thins (effaces) and opens (dilates) the cervix. You can't feel this yourself — only a cervical exam can confirm it, which is exactly why a checklist can point but never conclude.
Lightening and pelvic pressure
In the final weeks the baby may drop lower into the pelvis (“lightening”), bringing a heavy downward or low-back pressure. It's a sign things are moving toward labor, not proof labor has begun.
The rule that overrides everything
When to call now — no matter what a checklist says
There is no result on this page that means "definitely stay home," and no read that should stop you calling. Pick up the phone the same hour if you're unsure, if you're having regular contractions before 37 weeks (possible preterm labor), if your water breaks — a gush or a steady trickle, even without contractions — if you have vaginal bleeding, or if your baby is moving less than usual. If you can't reach your provider, go straight to labor & delivery.
A checklist reads the pattern; it cannot feel whether your cervix is thinning and opening, and only a clinician's exam can. The likeliest outcome of calling is reassurance — and that is the system working, not you overreacting. When in doubt, call: you will never be wasting anyone's time.
Next steps
Related tools
Contraction timer
Time how far apart and how long each contraction lasts — the exact numbers your provider will ask for.
Kick counter
Count your baby's movements — a slowdown is always a same-day call, in labor or not.
Pregnancy checklist
The third-trimester to-dos — including the hospital bag and your go-time plan.
Prenatal schedule
Every appointment and test on the ACOG cadence, explained visit by visit.
Sources
Where this comes from
The true-vs-false labor distinctions — regular vs. irregular timing, getting closer vs. not, strengthening vs. staying weak, persisting vs. easing with rest, and back-to-front vs. front-only location — reproduce ACOG's "How to Tell When Labor Begins" guidance, along with its list of the other signs of labor (water breaking, bloody show, effacement and dilation). The 37-week cutoff for preterm labor follows ACOG's "Preterm Labor and Birth," and the decreased-movement red flag follows ACOG's guidance on monitoring fetal well-being. We apply that guidance to give a lean read; we don't invent thresholds, and we never conclude that labor isn't happening.
Medically Reviewed & Fact-Checked · Updated
Reviewed by EasySTD Editorial Team
Compiled and checked by EasySTD's editorial team against CDC and public-health sources. This is educational information, not a substitute for advice from a licensed clinician. Our editorial guidelines →
4 Sources
Data & references
- ACOG: How to Tell When Labor Begins (true vs. false labor table; signs of labor)https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/how-to-tell-when-labor-begins
- ACOG: Preterm Labor and Birth (the 37-week cutoff and warning signs)https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/preterm-labor-and-birth
- ACOG: Special Tests for Monitoring Fetal Well-Being (decreased fetal movement)https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/special-tests-for-monitoring-fetal-well-being
- MedlinePlus (NIH): Childbirth — labor and deliveryhttps://medlineplus.gov/childbirth.html
EasySTD is an information and comparison directory, not a healthcare provider. This tool is general information based on published ACOG guidance: it is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a cervical exam, and it does not create a doctor-patient relationship. If you think you might be in labor, or you're unsure, call your obstetric provider — no checklist changes that.
Good to Know
Am I in labor? Frequently asked questions
Real vs. false labor, when to call or head in, the 5-1-1 rule, whether Braxton-Hicks can fool you, what water breaking without contractions means, and how private this is.
What's the difference between real labor and false (Braxton-Hicks) labor?
The clearest tell is the pattern of the contractions. In true labor the contractions are regular, they get closer together over time, they steadily get stronger and longer, they keep coming no matter what you do, and they're often felt starting in the back and wrapping around to the front. False labor — the practice contractions often called Braxton-Hicks — is the opposite: the tightenings are irregular, they don't get closer together, they stay weak or fade, they often ease when you walk, rest, change position, or drink water, and they're usually felt only in the front. This checklist walks through each of those distinctions, which come straight from ACOG's 'How to Tell When Labor Begins' guidance, and gives you a lean read. It can't replace a cervical exam, which is the only way to know for certain that the cervix is opening.
When should I call my provider or go to the hospital?
Call your provider now — don't wait it out — if you're unsure, if you're having regular contractions before 37 weeks, if your water breaks (a gush or a steady trickle, even without contractions), if you have vaginal bleeding, or if your baby is moving less than usual. Those are the go-in-now signs regardless of what any checklist says. For contractions at term, a common rule of thumb is 5-1-1 — contractions about 5 minutes apart, each lasting about 1 minute, keeping that up for about 1 hour — but your provider may give you different instructions based on your pregnancy, how far you live from the hospital, and your history, so follow their specific plan. When in doubt, call: you will never be wasting their time.
What is the 5-1-1 rule?
5-1-1 is a widely used rule of thumb for full-term pregnancies: head in (or call) when your contractions have been coming about every 5 minutes, each one lasting about 1 minute, and that pattern has held steady for about 1 hour. It's a simple way to capture the thing that actually matters — contractions that are regular, close together, and not letting up. It is not a hard medical rule, though: some providers use 4-1-1, and your own instructions may differ depending on whether this is your first baby, how fast your last labor went, how far you are from care, and any risk factors. Use the contraction timer to get the real numbers, then call your provider and tell them what you're seeing.
Can Braxton-Hicks contractions really feel like the start of labor?
Yes, and that's completely normal — telling them apart is genuinely hard in the moment, which is why this tool exists. Braxton-Hicks contractions are the uterus practicing, and late in pregnancy they can become frequent and uncomfortable enough to feel like the real thing. The way to sort it out is to time them and watch the trend over an hour: try changing position, emptying your bladder, drinking water, and resting. Practice contractions tend to ease or peter out when you do that; true labor keeps coming and keeps intensifying. If an hour of watching leaves you unsure, that uncertainty is itself a reason to call — a checklist should never talk you out of checking in.
My water broke but I'm not having contractions — is that labor?
Your water breaking (rupture of the membranes) is one of the signs of labor, and it's a reason to call your provider right away even if you feel no contractions at all. For many people contractions follow within hours, but that isn't guaranteed, and once the water has broken there's a rising risk of infection over time, so your provider will want to know when it happened and will guide what's next. Note the time it broke and the color and smell of the fluid — normal amniotic fluid is clear or pale and roughly odorless; green, brown, or foul-smelling fluid should be reported urgently, as should any heavy bleeding. Don't wait to see if labor 'gets going' on its own: call.
Is what I enter here private?
Yes. This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are used on your own device to work out the lean read and are never sent to a server, saved, or shared — close the tab and they're gone. There's no account, no cloud, and no tracking of your answers. It's general educational information based on ACOG's guidance on the signs of labor; it is not medical advice, it can't examine your cervix, and it never replaces calling your provider when something feels off.
Have a different question? Browse the full pregnancy FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.