How does labour happen

As you get closer to the time of birth , your support persons and midwife or doctor may tell you about what they are seeing, and you might feel more of the head as it expands your vagina and the muscles and skin around it.

If you look in a mirror, you can get your first look at your new baby. You might feel tremendous stretching and burning, and your midwife or doctor may ask you to push gently to ease the baby's head out to minimize any tears. With a final push or two for the shoulders, you will be able to welcome your child. A few words about episiotomy: In some circumstances, such as a baby with a low heart rate, your doctor or midwife may cut an episiotomy before the baby's head is born to speed up the birth.

An episiotomy is a cut in the skin and muscles of the perineum. Your doctor or midwife might also cut an episiotomy if they feel it might avoid a large tear. A few providers may do an episiotomy routinely. This is a question worth asking as you choose your healthcare provider.

Lucia and Roberto had a much longer labor with their third baby than they had experienced before, and she pushed a little longer this time, too. Although her midwife kept assuring her that she was making progress, Lucia was frustrated and confused, as she had expected things to be easier. With help from Rob and her midwife, Lucia tried to relax completely after each contraction, and she pushed in several positions, including on her hands and knees and in a squatting position.

Shortly after switching to her hands and knees for the third time, Lucia felt a great deal more pressure, and knew that the baby was coming. Her midwife confirmed that the baby had shifted position. Within several contractions, her baby was born, and Lucia could see even before her new daughter was weighed that she was her biggest baby so far. This article demonstrates positions that can be used for pushing as well as for giving birth. Your baby is out. You might be holding the baby, or you might have asked someone else to hold the baby briefly while you regroup.

Many babies cry vigorously shortly after birth, some breathe readily but are quieter, and a few need a little encouragement in their transition and might be moved briefly to an infant warmer. While you are getting to know your baby, your doctor or midwife is watching for signs that your placenta is ready to come out.

They will remind you of your final physical task of labor, and ask you to push out your placenta. While you admire the baby, your uterus continues in its work, contracting and reducing in size, so that the placenta detaches from its site. Once this has happened, a few pushes are usually all that is required to birth the placenta. Generally, the placenta is delivered within a few minutes, but delays of up to thirty minutes are considered normal. If the separation is delayed, breastfeeding the baby or stimulating your nipples may help trigger contractions to encourage separation.

Some midwives and doctors give medication, such as oxytocin to help encourage separation, or they may give the medication after the placenta is out to help minimize bleeding. One of the limitations of this website is similar to that of many childbirth classes or preparation books. In the focus on childbearing, little attention is paid to the aspect that will ultimately take up much more of your time and lead to more personal growth than pregnancy and birth ever did: your new role as a parent.

We hope that many of the things you have learned during your pregnancy and birth will also prepare you for your growth as a parent.

A holistic approach to parenting and taking care of yourself while parenting offers countless benefits, including a thoughtful awareness of how you are feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Complementary therapies and practices you might have learned during pregnancy, such as massage , Reiki , and aromatherapy , can continue to offer healing comfort and relief from physical symptoms.

Additionally, the methods of relaxation that you adopted during pregnancy can help relieve stress , both during your child's infancy and throughout the growth of your child. Indeed, many parents have stated that they draw on the strength they found in childbirth during challenging times of parenting.

Finally, skills you learned in advocating for yourself in the healthcare system remain important, both for yourself and for your child. The author of one of the most famous books on childcare, Dr. Spock, starts each edition with the words, "Trust yourself. No one else will ever know your child or have his or her best interests at heart as much as you do.

Listen to this affirmation. It will help you trust in your body's abilities during pregnancy and childbirth. Here are some relaxation techniques you might practice during your pregnancy that may help during childbirth.

Relaxation techniques. Myla and John Kabat-Zinn. By Tracy Hogg and Melinda Blau. By Martha Sears. By William M. More info on this topic. A holistic approach. Why go holistic? Birthing positions. What about pain? History of childbirth. How childbirth works. Factors that influence birth. Preparing for pregnancy and birth. Get birth support. Classes and birth plans. What do things look like inside? The bones and muscles of the pelvis provide support for the growing uterus and baby, and provide a passage through which your baby emerges during birth.

The uterus surrounds the baby, growing as the baby grows. The cervix is actually a part of the uterus, but made up of different tissue.

During pregnancy, the cervix is thick and closed. As you approach the time of birth, your contractions draw the cervix up into the body of the uterus, and it becomes thinner called effacement and opens called dilation. When the cervix is fully dilated about ten centimeters , contractions help the baby begin to move from the uterus into the vagina.

The vagina leads from the cervix to the outside of your body. The inside of your vagina has many folds, called rugae, which unfold as the baby passes through.

Your body's preparation for labor. Hormones work to soften the ligaments between the bones in your pelvis. Softening the ligaments gives your pelvis additional room for birth. Other hormones begin to soften your cervix. Your baby may begin moving lower in the pelvis. You may experience the passage of stringy, perhaps blood-tinged mucous.

Your water may break. You may experience pre-labor contractions. Two women's stories Ginny Ginny's baby started moving lower in her pelvis about three weeks before her due date. Lorinda Lorinda began to notice a pattern of contractions every evening about a week before her due date. Their providers' advice Ginny's doctor and Lorinda's midwife both assured these women that everything was normal, and that when things were normal, it was best to wait to go into labor and to use measures such as massage, hydrotherapy, warm packs, and Reiki to make themselves as comfortable as possible while they waited.

What can I expect emotionally? For example, if you fear a cesarean section, you might say: "I am afraid that I won't be able to give birth vaginally. For example, "I am strong and healthy, and I am well-designed to give birth. I am strong, and I can too. During your "worry time," repeat each affirmation several times and then tell yourself that worry time is over.

For the remainder of the day , if you find worries creeping in, repeat the positive endings to the affirmations. Try the guided relaxation exercise, focusing on positive mental preparation for birth.

What are the stages of labor? There are three stages of labor, excluding the preparatory changes discussed above. You have contractions that work to open your cervix. You have contractions that bring your baby down into the vagina and out into the world. You assist this process by pushing. You continue to have contractions that free the attachment of the placenta, and you push the placenta out.

What influences the progression of labor? Childbirth professionals often refer to the following factors influencing labor progression as the "Four Ps" of labor: Passenger your baby Passage the pelvic bones, your cervix and vagina, and the muscles in your pelvis Power your contractions Psyche your emotions. The dilation stage What happens in the dilation stage? What happens in the dilation stage? The dilation stage can be further subdivided into phases of early labor and active labor. The midwife will ask you how and where you feel your contractions, how often the contractions come and how long they last.

This will help them to know how much your labour has progressed. If you are not in labour or if the labour is not yet established, depending on your situation, it is generally better to stay at home.

Research has shown that women labour much better if they stay at home in the early stages. Second stage describes the period of time from when the cervix is fully dilated to when the baby is born. These days, many hospitals are set up to allow you to labour in a bath. Many women will find that this helps with relaxation and pain management. Some hospitals also make it possible for women to stay in the bath for the birth. This will usually depend on the availability of a midwife or obstetrician who is trained in water birth and whether your birth is progressing without any problems.

The midwife needs good access to your baby during the birthing process and needs to be able to get you out of the bath should there be any problems. If these considerations are met, water birth is very safe. At the Women's you can choose to labour and birth in water if it is considered safe for you and your baby. When the urge to push arrives it can be overwhelming.

The pushing phase varies for each woman but can last for up to two hours, usually less if you have had a baby before. Aside from the urge to push, you are likely to feel:. Trust and listen to your midwife who will guide you. In Victoria, you can have two types of abortion: surgical and medication. Both types are safe and reliable. You can have a medication abortion up to nine weeks of pregnancy.

You can have a surgical abortion from around six weeks of pregnancy onwards. Pregnant women with asthma need to continue to take their asthma medication as it is important to the health of both mother and baby that the mother's asthma is well managed. Pregnancy is calculated from the first day of your last period, not from the date of conception. Even if your baby furniture meets every safety standard and recommendation, your child still needs close supervision. The cause of birth defects is often unknown, speak to your GP if you are at increased risk of having a baby with a congenital anomaly.

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All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions and to ascertain whether the particular therapy, service, product or treatment described on the website is suitable in their circumstances.

The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website. Skip to main content. Healthy Living. Home Healthy Living. Pregnancy — labour. Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. On this page. Recognising the start of labour Symptoms of going into labour The first stage of labour The second stage of labour The third stage of labour Monitoring your baby during labour Care of the perineum during birth Suggestions for preparing for labour Suggestions for the early stages of labour Suggestions for labour once you are in your intended place of birth Where to get help Things to remember.

Recognising the start of labour Braxton-Hicks contractions are sometimes mistaken for labour. The first stage of labour The first stage of labour involves the thinning of the cervix and its dilation to around 10 cm. These are: The latent phase — Generally, this stage is the longest and the least painful part of labour. The cervix thins out and dilates zero to three centimetres.

This may occur over weeks, days or hours and be accompanied by mild contractions. The contractions may be regularly or irregularly spaced, or you might not notice them at all.

The active phase — The next phase is marked by strong, painful contractions that tend to occur three or four minutes apart, and last from 30 to 60 seconds. The cervix dilates from three centimetres to seven or eight centimetres. The transition phase — During transition, the cervix dilates from eight centimetres to 10 centimetres that is, fully dilated.

These contractions can become more intense, painful and frequent. It may feel as though the contractions are no longer separate, but running into each other. The second stage of labour The second stage of labour is from when your cervix is fully dilated to the time your baby is born. The third stage of labour After the birth of your baby your uterus gently contracts to loosen and push out the placenta, although you may not be able to feel these contractions.

There are two approaches to managing the third stage: Active management — this is the common practice in Australia. After the birth of your baby, the midwife or doctor gives you with your consent an injection of oxytocin, clamps and cuts the umbilical cord, and then carefully pulls on the cord to speed up delivery of the placenta. Active management has been found to reduce excessive blood loss and other serious complications. Expectant management — the placenta is allowed to deliver on its own, aided by gravity or nipple stimulation only.

In this approach the umbilical cord stays connected to the baby until the cord stops pulsating. Monitoring your baby during labour During labour, your baby's heart rate will be checked regularly. Care of the perineum during birth The area between the vagina and anus is called the perineum. An episiotomy may be needed during the last part of the second stage of labour if: The birth needs to be quicker if you or your baby show signs of distress You need an assisted vaginal birth You are showing signs that you may tear badly.

Suggestions for preparing for labour Some women may find the following activities helpful in preparing for labour: Choose your support person — choose someone you are comfortable with and who will help you rather than distract you during the different stages of labour Yoga Relaxation exercises Hypnotherapy a state of relaxation Childbirth education — for you and your support person.