Contraction timer

How to use the timer

1. Tap the big button when a contraction starts, and tap it again when it ends.
2. Keep going. The gap is measured from the start of one contraction to the start of the next, as most hospitals ask.
3. Watch the last-hour figures. When at least 6 contractions across an hour are about 5 minutes apart or closer and about a minute long, the timer prompts you to call.
4. You can delete a wrong entry from the list, or tap Reset to start again. An accidental refresh does not lose your list.

What to do when the prompt shows

Call your doctor or the hospital and ask whether to come in. Your own doctor’s advice comes first: some clinics use other patterns, especially for second babies. The pattern is a rule of thumb for labour that is going normally. It is not a reason to wait if something else is wrong: go now if your waters break, you bleed, your baby moves less, or the pain is severe.

If you are before 37 weeks and having regular tightenings, call without waiting for any pattern. See our emergency guide and warning signs checklist.

Sources

• 5-1-1 (about every 5 minutes, about a minute, for an hour; waters breaking or bleeding means go right away; ask your own provider): Healthline, When to go to the hospital for labor.
• NHS: call for guidance with regular contractions every 5 minutes or more often; call urgently if a contraction lasts longer than 2 minutes or you have 6 or more in 10 minutes, if waters break, you bleed or your baby moves less: NHS, Signs that labour has begun.
• Guidelines vary between services (for example NHS England says every 5 minutes or more often; some Welsh NHS pages say at least 60 seconds). The numbers in this tool follow the Gynexa app and have not been reviewed by a clinician yet.