Spotting in the Third Trimester: Causes & What to Expect

Question
I'm 19 years old and work as a CNA, the other night after work when I had went to the bathroom, I had some spotting, I get really bad "cramps" most of the day, someone told me I'm starting active labor, is this true or what else could it be?

Answer
When is your due date? Is this your first pregnancy? Depending on how far pregnant you are, you may start to have a "bloody show" and irregular cramping . A bloody show is actually  the loss of the mucus polug that was keeping the uterus closed for the pregnancy. Labor usually starts within a few weeks of the loss of the mucus plug. Soon you will start to have regular contractions. When you have cntractions that  occur every 3 minutes (from the start of one contraction to the start of the next contraction) at the level of your  belly button, and each contraction lasts for a full minute (remains hard), and this continues for a full hour, you should be checked. When yuor cervix dilates to greater than 3- 4cm, you will be admitted to the hospital.