Thankfully there are all kinds of apps that can do this for you. But for the sake of thoroughness, I think it best to explain it here. So. 

• The ‘duration’ or ‘length’ of a contraction=the time from the start to the end of a contraction. 

• The ‘frequency’ between contractions=the time from the start of one contraction, to the start of the next contraction (this is usually somewhere around 5 minutes around when active labor begins).

• The ‘intensity’ of contractions=the level of physical sensation felt, or the amount of force being exerted by the uterus (usually measured on the monitors to make sure the uterus is doing its job adequately). 

So, for the 5-1-1 rule (this is usually useful for first-time labors, when trying to determine when to leave for the birth facility):

When your contractions are

• Five minutes in frequency (from start to start)

• Lasting one minute+ long

• Consistent and rhythmic for at least one hour or more

...you may be in active labor. Check out my blog post for more context on determining if you’re really in labor or not. 

Once you’ve got the hang of timing, and you’ve put someone else in charge of it, it’s a good idea to keep a record of when they started and stopped, and the information you gathered from timing: length, frequency, and intensity. It might look something like this, if you have an app:

Or, it might look like this (if you decide to do it by hand):

A paper copy is sometimes useful to hand over to your doctor or midwife when they arrive, so they can get a good idea of where you’re at in the process.

Happy timing!