Labor has started.

I intentionally ate something spicy and had sex with my husband a couple of hours later. An hour after that, my water broke at exactly 37 weeks.

I'm 16 days overdue and my water broke. I had membrane stripping twice before, but it wasn't enough. After a few hours, I started getting contractions.

No, absolutely no symptoms. I had read online about how to induce labor because I was really fed up with being pregnant—I’d experienced every complaint imaginable. So we ordered Chinese food; I had chicken fillet with black bean sauce and five of those small round Spanish peppers, mind you. Then in the evening we had sex. I read that sperm and frequent orgasms could make your uterus contract, which I needed since I hadn’t really had strong contractions or practice contractions. And an hour later, light contractions started. The next day I went into labor. It was a 28-hour labor.

Hmm, well then I'm gonna spoil it for you.. my first son came at 41+6 weeks. I had 3 membrane sweeps, had sex as much as possible.. ate spicy food. Nothing worked, he waited till the very last moment.

Last week I gave birth to the second at 41 weeks.

They come when they're ready.. it's usually a matter of luck whether something helped

But to answer your question.. it started for me with some period-like cramps. The big difference between false labor and real contractions, I think, is that a real contraction has a beginning, peak, and end. You really feel that in the intensity of the pain. With this last birth, they weren't regular either, so that's tricky sometimes too. It's such a cliché but you just know when you have a real contraction..

I heard it's proven that sex can really help. When you orgasm, your uterus contracts, and your body thinks you're having practice contractions. So, frequent orgasms and semen might help soften things? I don't think it was a coincidence for me; it didn't feel like one either.