Pregnancy And Dialation

I am 37 weeks pregnant and 3 cm dialated so the baby is full term.. I am still a bit confused though about the dialation process... I am 3 cm so how long does it take to get to the Active labor mark and once I hit 4 cm should I go to the hospital.. This is my first child and yet Im still not sure what a contraction feels like either... The doctor said I have contractions why cant I feel them though I feel the baby move...

[cmroark]

every woman is different. not every woman contracts or dialates at the same pace. it just depends on your body and when it wants to go into labor. i went into labor at about 39 weeks two days after i got my membranes stripped.. i had been dialated to 1cm since 34wks and then i was almost 3cms at that appt. to dialted from almost 4cms [at the start of my labor] to 10cms it took me 24 hours! and you will definately know when your having a contraction. your belly gets tight and really hard and its like a big cramp.. hurts really bad, haha. i didn't have back labor though so i couldn't give you any adice on that.. maybe that's what your having is back labor.. that could be why you aren't feeling the contractions? who knowsanyways GOOD LUCK!!!

[Crritter]

I had back labor twice, you will definitely feel it if that's the case.  You will get the belly contractions, but then you get this intense pressure in your back and tailbone.  Felt like mine was going to explode from pressure.  Early contractions you don't feel so much, when you get active labor you should notice them more.  My sil never felt hers till the last few when she went to fully dialated, but she had real short labors too, less than 4 hours each time.   It will take awhile to dialate to 10 cm, you need to go to the Dr. when you are contracting at a good pattern for a certain amount of time, most Dr.'s say 5 mins or less for at least an hour.  Mine told me for at least 2 hours because I kept stalling out when I talked to her.  Took my 38 hours with my first, but I was actually in labor when they admitted me for induction, my second one same thing, I was contracting regularly, but would stop on my own, that one was only 11 hours.  Talk to your Dr. about what to expect and when to call or go in.  I would also recommend the child birth classes at the hospital.  They were taught by the labor and delivery nurses here and it was really informative and made me feel better to go.