Labor question!

[K1990]

So I am sitting here with my best friend and she is 35 1/2 weeks and is having "contractions".  She called her doctor and she said that she should be feeling it in your back as it moves to the front... is that always the case?  I have heard that you don't always have back contractions to be in labor.  How is she going to know it's labor or just bh?

[alaysha]

When you are in true labor you know since the contractions are very painful and come extremely fast. Everything else seems like no big deal until that moment.

[fungirl1011]

For both of my children, I had really bad back labor, but my sister didn't have any back labor.  She said that her labor felt like having period cramps only a lot stronger.  Are her contractions coming on a regular basis?  Are they causing her any pain?  How long are they lasting?  True labor will have contractions that last for about 1 minute (If I remember right,it has been 11 years since I had my youngest :)  Have her drink a large glass of water to make sure she is not dehydrated and then have her lay down for a bit to see if this ease the contractions.  If nothing helps or they get stronger or closer together, I would call the DR back or take her to Labor and Delivery to see what is going on.  Good Luck!!  Kasie