It is usually during the active phase of labour that you go to the hospital or birth centre. Guests are asked to wear a hospital dress upon arrival. Your pulse, blood pressure and temperature are checked. A monitor is placed on your abdomen for a short time or continuously to look for uterine contractions and assess the baby`s heart rate. Your doctor will also examine your cervix during a pelvic exam to determine how far labor has progressed. Contractions that occur in rapid succession can also be problematic. When two contractions occur very quickly with little rest in between, it is called “coupling”. Three rapidly succession contractions are called “tripling”. These patterns are abnormal and should be avoided. The timing of your contractions will help you and your doctor keep track of what`s going on. You need to know how long your contractions last (duration) and how close they are to each other (frequency). The work is done in three phases. The first phase goes from the moment you have regular contractions for the first time to when you are ready to give birth to your baby.
This is an early or latent phase, when the contractions are mild and the cervix begins to change so that the baby can pass; an active phase when the contractions are strong and most of the labor takes place to prepare your body for childbirth; and a transition period where you feel the need to push. If contractions occur more frequently, there is a risk that the fetus will not tolerate the extra stress if this pattern is maintained. Excessive uterine contractions are called “tachysystols”. Contractions in the third stage are usually less intense than active contractions of labor, although some women experience very painful contractions. You may need to settle down once or twice to encourage the placenta to come out. Your cervix will always be dilated and the placenta that passes through will not hurt. Active workers tend to be shorter than in the previous phase and take about five to six hours. Women who have already had a vaginal birth may find that active delivery is much shorter. The uterus is tense during labour or is said to have increased “tone”. Rest between contractions requires that the uterus be “soft” when touched or palpated, and that it has a decreased tone.
If the uterus is not soft, the tone is increased. The muscle may not be relaxed enough to promote good blood circulation. My next suggestion concerned the Position of the Walcher. This is also described on the spinning babies website and is difficult to reach and maintain, but can be a game changer. (For curious birds, head over to the Spinning Babies website for photos and instructions.) Walcher can help move the pelvis so that the baby can move under the pubic bone and into the edge of the pelvis, allowing the baby`s head to do the job of putting pressure on the cervix to widen the cervix. For prodromal work, this is the secret that no one talks about! Lexie conscientiously tried this position for a contraction or two and decided that she would then try to rest again for the night, as her contractions were again spaced 10 minutes apart and bearable for 90 seconds. At her midwife`s suggestion, she took a Tylenol PM and lay down. Contractions are an important part of the birth and delivery process. If you understand the normal course of labor and how contractions develop, you can know what to expect and how to prepare for each stage of labor. Choose your attitude at birth carefully and caregivers to ensure that they support childbirth as a normal process, limiting unnecessary interventions and promoting a positive childbirth experience.
Here are some terms you can use to describe the pattern of your contractions: When you call your doctor or hospital, you should provide information about the duration and frequency of your contractions and the duration of this pattern. In general, the desired frequency of uterine contractions in normal labor is a contraction every two to three minutes or less than five contractions over a period of 10 minutes. Traditionally, it is believed that active work begins only with an extension of four centimeters. This is based on a 1954 study by Dr. Friedman. The study of 500 women showed that cervical dilation accelerated by four centimeters. However, a large recent study of more than 62,000 women found that cervical dilation accelerates after six centimeters and that progress by four to six centimeters was much slower than previously described in Friedman`s study. Women often describe these contractions not painfully, but “large” and even intoxicating. You can find relief from intense transitional contractions. At some point, your baby`s head begins to crown itself and you may feel a tingling or burning sensation for a few seconds. This is usually the most intense phase of the push phase. Once the head is born, the intensity decreases with the birth of the baby`s body.
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