# Day 274: Sixty seconds, every five minutes

> Thirty-nine weeks and one day. The NHS's rule is simple: call when contractions last a minute and come every five. Today you practise timing them.

- Series: Your ninth month of pregnancy, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-9), day 274 of 280, 39 weeks + 1 day
- Your baby this week: about the size of a watermelon; around 50.7 cm from head to heel
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-9/day-274
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 274: Sixty seconds, every five minutes." Last reviewed October 22, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-9/day-274

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Thirty-nine weeks and one day. Most people's first question about labour is "how will I know?" Part of the answer is a stopwatch, and today you practise using one.

## Your baby

Around now your baby is around 50.7cm long from head to heel, about the size of a watermelon ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-39/)). Their skin is coated in vernix, a white, waxy layer that protects it and helps them move down the birth canal. Some babies are covered in it at birth; for others it's mostly gone ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-39/)).

## Your body

Practice contractions, Braxton Hicks, are painless. Contractions that become painful may be real labour, and the NHS's rule is to contact your hospital or midwife if they last at least 60 seconds and come every 5 minutes, or at any time if you're worried ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-39/)). Real labour contractions are painful and followed by the muscles relaxing ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-40/)).

MedlinePlus describes true labour this way: contractions come regularly, about 5 to 10 minutes apart, last 30 to 70 seconds, get longer over time, spread to the lower back and upper belly, and get strong enough that you can't talk or laugh through them ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000508.htm)). Early labour can be slow: contractions every 5 to 20 minutes, and it can last up to 20 hours, especially for a first birth ([NICHD](https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/labor-delivery/topicinfo/stages)).

## Try today

### The sixty-and-five rule

- **Time:** 10 minutes

1. Open the stopwatch on a phone. How long a contraction lasts is from the moment it starts to the moment it eases.
2. How often they come is from the start of one to the start of the next. That's the number people get wrong, so say it out loud.
3. Practise three in a row, on Braxton Hicks if you have them, or on your partner squeezing your arm for a count.
4. Write the rule on your card: "At least 60 seconds long, every 5 minutes: call" ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-39/)).

**Make it work:** Let the partner hold the phone. Breathing through a contraction and doing arithmetic at the same time is too much to ask of anyone.

## Watch for

- **Normal:** irregular tightenings that fade when you change what you're doing ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/labor-and-birth)). **Call your provider** right away for regular, painful contractions every 5 to 10 minutes for 60 minutes, or contractions lasting 60 to 90 seconds ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000508.htm)).
- **Normal:** movements that feel different as space runs out. **Call your provider** if the baby's movement suddenly decreases; MedlinePlus suggests a snack and a few minutes lying down first, then a call if it's still low ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000558.htm)).
- **Normal:** getting out of breath on the stairs, common in the third trimester ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/stages-pregnancy)). **Call 911** for severe chest pain or shortness of breath that doesn't go away ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).

## For you

The most useful test at 3 a.m. is a change of activity. Braxton Hicks tend to fade when you get up and walk or lie down ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/labor-and-birth)); true labour carries on regardless ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000508.htm)). If they keep coming and you've lost count, call anyway: MedlinePlus says to make contact for any reason if you're unsure ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000508.htm)).

If you're the partner: keep the phone charged and your voice quiet. Read her the numbers. Don't announce "it's not real yet".

## Sources

- NHS. "Week 39." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-39/
- NHS. "Week 40." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-40/
- MedlinePlus. "Am I in labor?" National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000508.htm
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "What are the stages of labor?" National Institutes of Health. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/labor-delivery/topicinfo/stages
- Office on Women's Health. "Labor and birth." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/labor-and-birth
- MedlinePlus. "Prenatal care in your third trimester." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000558.htm
- Office on Women's Health. "Stages of pregnancy." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/stages-pregnancy
- MedlinePlus. "Common symptoms during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm