Birth Labor

Birth labor can be scary, especially for first time mothers. Questions abound. What was that pain? What was that cramping sensation? Did my water break? Is the baby okay? The antidote to this trying time is knowledge. This article discusses the major points of childbirth labor so that you can be prepared for the big day.

 

Hopefully you will have had several prenatal visits to your obstetrician before the day of delivery (this is very important!). If you have, you were given a due date and window of days that you can expect the baby. As you approach the due date, you may notice that the fetus has shifted down a bit, towards the birth canal. This is normal. Your cervix, the opening to your womb (uterus) will go through changes that you may not notice. These do not necessarily predict that birth labor or delivery is approaching, but you should not be surprised if they occur. Your obstetrician will check for changes to your cervix by gynecological examination.

 

 

There are a few things that will occur in birth labor that will make you think that the baby is coming soon. You will begin to have stronger contractions and they will occur more frequently the sooner that baby is to delivery. A contraction is essentially a cramping pain in the lower abdomen and, even if you have not experienced it before, you will not mistake it when one occurs.

 

One of the misconceptions about childbirth labor is that when a woman’s water breaks it is like an explosion of fluid. While you may experience a rush of water (which is amniotic fluid), you may just feel a slow flow of fluid. If your water breaks or if you suspect that it might have, it is best to call your obstetrician or go to the hospital. Once this stage of birth labor has been reached, the baby should be delivered soon. If it is not, the chance for infection increases quite a bit and childbirth labor may need to be induced. Not all women experience their water breaking (rupture of the amniotic sac). If it does not occur, the doctor will break open the sac manually prior to delivery.

 

You may notice a brown or red mucus discharge from your vagina. This is normal and simply means that your cervix is dilating (opening up). A lot of bright red blood is not normal and should be brought to the attention of a doctor immediately. Spotting red blood is okay.

 

It is common and normal for first time moms to experience false birth labor. You should not feel shame or embarrassment if you show up to the hospital for false birth labor. However there is a trick to telling the difference between Braxton Hicks contractions (false labor) and real birth labor contractions. It is not a difference in how they feel—false labor and childbirth labor can feel the same. The difference is the timing. False birth labor pains will be irregular and they will not increase in intensity or frequency with time. Think you are having birth labor delivery pains? Time them. The false ones will be irregularly timed or intermittent.

 

Actual childbirth labor has three stages. The first stage can take up to 20 hours (or more) and includes changes in the cervix and birth canal that must occur to let baby pass. The second stage of child birth delivery is the active pushing phase. Your doctor will (hopefully) be there to actually deliver the baby during this stage. The third stage is delivery of the placenta. The final stage of birth labor is quick and relatively painless. By this stage, mom has delivered baby and she is ready to heal and prepare to start on a new life!