An important sign of labour is regular and gradually increasing uterine contractions lasting 30 seconds or more, with intervals of 5-6 minutes, accompanied by progressive loss of the cervical canal, dilatation of the uterine opening and descent of the prelabour section. Sedation does not inhibit labour.
The aura of labour is not considered to be in labour and there is no shortening of the cervical canal or opening of the uterus, so even if there is an aura of labour, it is not necessarily a formal labour. Contractions in the aura clinic are usually characterised by lower abdominal distension, tightness of the stomach and back pain, and they last for a relatively short time, are irregular and are usually more pronounced at night and disappear in the early morning.