What you should know about labor and delivery?

• Have your gear ready.
• Know the first signs of labor.
• Know what a labor contraction feels like.
• Recognize a false alarm.
• Know when it’s time to go to the hospital.
• Recognize red flags.
• Understand that sometimes inducing labor is necessary.
• Plan for pain relief.

There are five essential factors that affect the process of labor and delivery. They are easily remembered as the five Ps (passenger, passage, powers, placenta, and psychology).

If your labour starts during the day, stay upright and gently active. This helps your baby move down into your pelvis and helps your cervix to dilate. Breathing exercises, massage and having a warm bath or shower may help ease pain during this early stage of labour.

• Weight Gain Stops. Some women lose up to 3 pounds before labor thanks to water breaking and increased urination. …
• Fatigue. Commonly, you will feel exhausted by the end of the third trimester. …
• Vaginal Discharge. …
• Urge to Nest. …
• Diarrhea. …
• Back Pain. …
• Loose Joints. …
• The Baby Drops.

Contractions during early labor will feel mild, like deep menstrual cramps, and will be irregular. Early labor helps soften, shorten, and thin your cervix. It can start a few days or a few hours before birth.

• First stage: Dilation of the cervix (mouth of the uterus)
• Second stage: Delivery of the baby.
• Third stage: Afterbirth where you push out the placenta.
• Fourth stage: Recovery.

1. Have sex. Having sex, particularly vaginal penetration, may help to start labor. …
2. Try nipple stimulation. Nipple stimulation may be a natural way to get the body to release oxytocin, a hormone that plays a key role in both labor and breast-feeding. …
3. Eat some dates.

A: Many factors come into play to determine how long a labor will last. Basically labor length is influenced by the Six P’s: passage, passenger, power, position, psyche or perception and parity.

Remember you’re advised to avoid shaving a week to your delivery or Caesarean birth date. Don’t be embarrassed if you haven’t shaved. It’s acceptable not to shave before delivery. Don’t worry.

1. Prepare to push. During the second stage of labor, the pushing stage, aim for more controlled and less expulsive pushing. …
2. Keep your perineum warm. Placing a warm cloth on the perineum during the second stage of labor might help.
3. Perineal massage. …
4. Deliver in an upright, nonflat position.

1. Push as if you’re having a bowel movement. …
2. Tuck your chin to your chest. …
3. Give it all you’ve got. …
4. Stay focused. …
5. Change positions. …
6. Trust your instinct. …
7. Rest between contractions. …
8. Stop pushing as instructed.

• Water breaking. …
• Losing your mucus plug. …
• Weight loss. …
• Extreme nesting. …
• Low back pain. …
• Real contractions. …
• Cervical dilation. …
• Loosening of joints.

Researchers believe that the most important trigger of labor is a surge of hormones released by the fetus. In response to this hormone surge, the muscles in the mother’s uterus change to allow her cervix (at the lower end of her uterus) to open.

Researchers now believe that when a baby is ready for life outside his mother’s uterus, his body releases a tiny amount of a substance that signals the mother’s hormones to begin labor (Condon, Jeyasuria, Faust, & Mendelson, 2004). In most cases, your labor will begin only when both your body and your baby are ready.

Just make sure your bras and clothing are free of metal. If you need to have a cesarean delivery, metal can cause burns because of the electrocautery instrument (the device used to cut and cauterize).

Pain During Labor and Delivery Pain during labor is caused by contractions of the muscles of the uterus and by pressure on the cervix. This pain can be felt as strong cramping in the abdomen, groin, and back, as well as an achy feeling. Some women experience pain in their sides or thighs as well.

Offer mom plenty of calming touches. Keep her as relaxed as possible by offering to massage her shoulders, hands or feet. Offer to assist your partner into comfortable positions where she can lean on you during contractions. Be your partner’s advocate.

During the active stage of labor, your cervix dilates from around 6 cm to the full 10 cm. (The last part of active labor, when the cervix dilates fully from 8 to 10 cm, is called transition.) This process takes about 5 to 7 hours if you’re a first-time mom, or between 2 and 4 hours if you’ve had a baby before.

If they occur low down, just above your pubic bone, this can be a sign your cervix is dilating. It might feel something like the cramping ache you have just before, or at the start of your period. You might also feel a dull ache in the lower part of your back, which comes at regular intervals.

Squats are a great way to prepare for and to promote labor. “Squats allow gravity to open your pelvis,” says Amanda, “giving your baby more room to descend further into the birth canal.” Lunges are another good exercise to help bring on labor.

Most likely, you’ll notice that your underwear is wet. A small amount of fluid probably means that the wetness is vaginal discharge or urine (no need to feel embarrassed — a little urine leakage is a normal part of pregnancy). But hold on, as there is a chance it could also be amniotic fluid.

Does it hurt when my waters break? No, it shouldn’t hurt when your waters break or when they are broken for you. The amniotic sac, which is the part that ‘breaks’ doesn’t have pain receptors, which are the things that cause you to feel pain.

First Stage or Early Labor The first stage of labor, also called early labor, is by far the longest. It begins at the onset of labor and continues until the cervix is fully dilated.

The three ‘Ps’ (powers, passenger and passage) are a shorthand way of describing the main causes of obstructed labour.

What Is the 411 Rule? According to the “411 Rule” (commonly recommended by doulas and midwives), you should go to the hospital when your contractions are coming regularly 4 minutes apart, each one lasts at least 1 minute, and they have been following this pattern for at least 1 hour.

After your baby is born, your body gets rid of the blood and tissue that was inside your uterus. This is called vaginal discharge or lochia. For the first few days, it’s heavy, bright red and may contain blood clots. Over time, the flow gets less and lighter in color.

You should have your hospital bag ready to go between weeks 32 and 35 of your pregnancy, in case your baby comes a bit earlier than expected. A good time to start the packing process is around the 28 week mark, or at the start of your 3rd trimester.

And you may feel more pressure late in pregnancy when your baby “drops.” This happens when the baby’s head moves lower into the pelvis in preparation for labor. You may also notice swollen blue or purple veins on your labia.

Movement is an instinctive way of coping with the discomfort of labor. Remaining upright also appears to facilitate labor progress and, aided by gravity, descent of the baby in the birth canal. By contrast, MRI studies suggest that on-the-back positioning may significantly narrow the baby’s pathway through the pelvis.

• Pineapple. There’s nothing quite as sweet as fresh pineapple. …
• Dates. The fruit of the date palm tree, dates are very nutritious. …
• Spicy food. …
• Prego pizza. …
• Maternity salad. …
• The “Inducer” pizza. …
• Eggplant. …
• Cupcakes.

For first-time mothers the average length of pushing is one-to-two hours. In some instances, pushing can last longer than two hours if mother and baby are tolerating it. Normally, the baby is born with his face looking toward mother’s back (referred to as an anterior position).

If you want to push but you’re not fully dilated, your health care provider might ask you to hold back. Pushing too soon could make you tired and cause your cervix to swell, which might delay delivery. Pant or blow your way through the contractions.

#3: Labor contractions They are common in early labor, as active labor is approaching. They are usually one of the strong signs labor is 24-48 hours away. Irregular contractions can feel like your belly is tightening, with cramping lower in your pelvis. You might feel some pressure or discomfort, and back pain.

Other signs labor could be near These signs of labor include: Fatigue. Lightning crotch pain (sharp, burning or shooting nerve pain in your pelvis caused by your baby’s position). Loose stools or diarrhea.

1. Exercise.
2. Sex.
3. Nipple stimulation.
4. Acupuncture.
5. Acupressure.
6. Castor oil.
7. Spicy foods.
8. Waiting for labor.

Hormones = More Contractions at Night At night, the hormones that increase the contracting nature of your uterine muscle – estrogens and prostandins – predominate. And oxytocin and melatonin hit their peak at night too.

The researchers also found there was another very important internal factor that tells the baby it’s time to come out: the baby’s lungs. Their study found two special proteins (SRC-1 and SRC-2) are released from the baby’s lungs into the amniotic fluid just before the beginning of labor.