How to time a contraction
Start the timer when the tightening begins and stop it when the tightening ends. That interval is the duration. Frequency is measured from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next.
Try to record a series rather than interpreting one interval. The history can help you describe what you are feeling when you speak with your maternity team, but the numbers cannot confirm labor on their own.
Sources: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, NHS Best Start in Life.
What a changing pattern can show
Labor contractions often become longer, stronger, and closer together, while practice contractions may stay irregular or ease with a change of activity. Real experiences overlap, particularly early on.
A familiar timing rule such as 5-1-1 can be a prompt to call if it matches advice from your own service. It is not a universal diagnosis, and it must never override symptoms or instructions from your maternity team.
Sources: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, NHS Best Start in Life, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
When to contact your maternity team
Call when you think labor may be starting, when you are unsure, or when your own care plan tells you to call. Contact them urgently if your waters break, you have vaginal bleeding, your baby is moving less than usual, or you are under 37 weeks and think labor may be starting.
NHS guidance also advises urgent contact when a contraction lasts longer than two minutes or you have six or more contractions in ten minutes. Local guidance can differ, so use the number supplied by the service responsible for your care.
Heavy bleeding or severe constant pain needs urgent maternity or hospital assessment. Call emergency services when birth seems imminent, there is an urge to push with the baby coming now, or there is immediate danger. Do not wait for this timer to reach a pattern.
Sources: NHS Best Start in Life, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, NHS.
What is stored in your browser
Completed intervals are saved in this browser so an accidental refresh does not immediately erase the session. Bornly does not receive the contraction timestamps from this tool.
You can remove one interval or clear the full session. Clearing removes the stored history from this browser after confirmation. A private-browsing window or browser cleanup may erase it earlier.
What the timer cannot decide
A stopwatch cannot assess cervical change, your baby’s wellbeing, bleeding, fluid, pain, gestational age, previous births, travel time, or instructions made for your pregnancy.
Do not use one interval or the session summary as a signal that it is safe to stay home. The useful output is a clean history to describe, not a verdict about labor or when to travel.
Sources: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Sources
- 01How to Tell When Labor BeginsAmerican College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists · Last reviewed November 2025
- 02Signs of going into labourNHS Best Start in Life
- 03Intrapartum care: recommendationsNational Institute for Health and Care Excellence · NG235, updated 2026
- 04Preterm Labor and BirthAmerican College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- 05Your baby's movementsNHS · Last reviewed July 2024