When the contractions are more intense and come more frequently, then you will be in the active phase of the first stage of labor. Your healthcare practitioner will give you guidelines as to when you should call him. Some want you to go to the hospital as soon as your water breaks. Or he may say to call him when you have steady contractions that are so many minutes apart. The next phase of the first stage of labor is transition.
Transition is the short but hard part of labor.
Your uterine contractions will come very close together, but are not usually any stronger than the contractions of the active phase. By the end of transition your cervix will be completely dilated to 10 centimeters - big enough for the baby's head to pass through. This stage begins when you are completely dilated. You will begin pushing the baby out of your body. Your contractions will get further apart and feel differently.