Speed bumps...a sign of labor!

 Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim

Having Braxton-Hicks contractions during the final weeks of pregnancy can make it difficult to tell when "it's the real thing."  Not sure if it's real labor?  How about a drive over a few speed bumps to find out! 

Of course the only way to know if contractions are "real" or not is to wait it out and see if ends with birth.  I hope that you enjoy this article.  Let me know if you have a story you'd like to share.  Now on to the story...Speed bumps...a sign of labor!...

Every birth is unique and I really enjoy reading birth stories.  Recently, as I read a birth story, it struck me that there was a common element in the story that I too have repeated a few times in my own stories...speed bumps!  To illustrate, I'll copy the comments from her story and a few of mine here:

"On the journey, I couldn’t help but groan and make quite loud noises with each contraction. The poor taxi driver (which we later discovered was a brother, as my husband later bumped into him in the masjid) drove over a hole in the ground as I was having a contraction. I screamed at him (may Allah forgive me) and the poor brother apologised and apologised and apologised. I think this was his first labour – lol!"  [story here]

"When we left the store I remember feeling like my husband was racing over speed bumps.  He wasn't, but each little bump hurt!"  [story here]

"The dreaded speed bumps were just as painful this time around as last."  [story here]

"As we left the parking lot I felt that he was speeding over the speed bumps. Déjà vu, it must be labor!"  [story here]

"I knew her contractions were much harder this time when Aisha had to ask me to slow down, slower than I was already; the van was hardly moving.  I’m not sure if she realized that, LOL.  At one point she cried, “Slow down and don’t go fast over that speed bump!”"  [story here]

It seems from these comments that speed bumps could be the true test for "real labor!"  Okay, maybe you shouldn't bank on that, but it surely seems to be a repetitive theme in my birth stories!  I wonder if anyone else has a similar experience?  I'd love to read comments from other mothers who found speed bumps intolerable during their labor.