As your body prepares for labor, it will begin to shed this mucus. Even as your body sheds this, it will be making new mucus, so do not be surprised at the amount you pass. Some women report a one-time event of passing a mass of mucus, others report a constant or intermittent increased discharge. This process may begin up to a week or two before labor begins or not until the onset of labor. There is no need to report this to your physician or midwife unless your discharge is watery, foul smelling, or you are having bright red bleeding.
Contractions are the sign of labor everyone expects.
It is normal during the last month of your pregnancy to have irregular contractions which last 30 to 90 seconds. Some may be painful, but most will just feel tight. Between contractions the tightness in your abdomen should go completely away. When you begin labor, these contractions will become regular and increasingly uncomfortable. You may feel them beginning in your back and radiating or wrapping around to your abdomen.