If you do not have much thought at the beginning and middle of pregnancy, some questions may rush through your head when approaching your due date. How is this going to happen when the job started? How long will it last? What should I do during that time?
The first phase: cervical dilatation or phase of work
This is the longest part and it is difficult to predict its duration. In general, it is longer if it is the first child. At this stage, the uterus is closed by the collar will expand gradually as the baby drops into the pool to "go out". If at this stage, you do not water broke spontaneously, the midwife or gynecologist will break the membranes at the end of the expansion. The midwife or doctor will monitor you regularly.
Examinations performed at this stage are to:
- Check the uterine contractions.
- Check the progress of cervical dilatation. Not until it reaches 10 cm for the baby's head can pass.
- Monitor the progress of the baby's head in the tunnel of the basin.
- Monitor the baby's condition, heart sounds, heart rate ...
As we approach the expulsion phase, contractions will succeed at a pace of about one contraction every 3 to 4 minutes. Moreover, the contractions will get closer and increasingly will be more painful. This is the perfect time to practice all the advice obtained during your sessions of preparation for pregnancy, if you have followed.
Overreach and try to control your breath, breathing regularly to supply oxygen to your uterus, which provides intensive work. Indeed, more than one muscle contracts, it requires more oxygen and your uterus is particularly in need of oxygen during that time. Also, if you can not control your contractions, you can make them less painful. To do this, you simply relax. Because the more you tense up or take out the cervix that has tended to resist the expansion, will resist even more. Result: more pain.
The second phase: the expulsion or conversion into world
The birth usually takes 20 to 30 minutes for a first birth, at least for those that follow. The baby continues its descent into the bony pelvis, head down, bent toward her chest, a slight rotation to the side. The descent continues and the baby's head changes its positon again, to stand up, face towards the ground. At this stage, you will feel the urge to push because the baby presses the perineum, which will accelerate its exit from the basin. You will help him be born.
Be careful with everything you said your obstetrician / gynecologist. You have to push with each contraction, but by blocking your breathing and focusing on the lower abdomen. Once the baby's head in order, everything is much faster. If the passage is tight, the doctor may perform an episiotomy to facilitate the passage of the baby. This is a small incision that will sew once the baby out.
The third and final phase: the issue
Once baby there, there remains one last step: the placenta. The last contractions (much less painful), will help you expel. The midwife or the gynecologist will examine the placenta to see if it has been completely expelled. Delivery is then completed.