Alright, lets talk about what actually happens in labor. We talk about this with our doctor or midwife and may get just a brief response and still feel a little confused about how it all works! I want to give you a quick step by step as to how labor and birth work!

There are actually 3 stages of labor! In the first stage of labor there are 3 parts. I hope I haven’t lost you yet! Let me break it down clearly.

First Stage

Early labor:

During early labor you will start to feel mild irregular contractions. These contractions will start to open your cervix. In early labor your cervix will open from 0 cm – 6 cm. This is the very beginning when you are questioning – Am I labor? Am I not? Let’s talk about timing these lots of baby apps have contraction timers. I find these timers SUPER helpful! I really recommend one.

Make sure you have one of these on your phone! Here is a link for a app that I really love to help with contraction timing: Contraction timer

When tracking your early contractions you’ll see that your contractions maybe be 30-60 seconds long and 5-20 minutes apart. As labor goes on your contraction time will lengthen and the time between them will shorten! I’ll talk about this more in active labor.

How long does early labor last?! – For a first time mom it can last hours to days, but for a mom who has had a baby before the time will most likely shorten.

What are other symptoms of early labor? – Backache (constant or with each contraction), menstrual-like cramps, lower abdominal pressure, indigestion, diarrhea, small contractions, pinkish/white goo (called a mucus plug) being discharged from your vagina, a feeling of warmth in the abdomen, your water might will break (but this could also happen later on.)

 Active Labor

Now, here comes the active labor! This is when your contractions start feeling more and more intense! Your cervix will start dilating from a 6 to a 10. Also, the contractions will be getting closer and closer together. The timing of these contractions is: 45-60 seconds long and 2-4 minutes apart.

Side note: You may be asking, “When do I go to the hospital?!?” – I like to tell my clients do go by the 411 rule. Contractions are 4 minutes apart, last for 1 minutes and this has been continuous for 1 hour. I really recommend this if you’re trying to do a natural birth. If you’re not trying to do a natural birth I recommend going by the 411 rule OR if the pain is too much the bare then get to the hospital. ALSO- go to the hospital if your water has broken.

How long does active labor last?!- This stage will go by quicker than early labor. I most likely will not take longer than 6 hours. For some women it takes 30 minutes for others it could take a couple of hours.

What are other symptoms of early labor? – Increasing pain (you won’t be able to talk through these contractions), Increasing backache, your legs may feel heavy, fatigue, an increase of blood, your water breaking (if it hasn’t already), nausea and/or vomiting

Stage Two

Pushing!

By this point, you have almost made it! Your baby is almost here! Your cervix is fully dilated to a 10 and it is time to push out your baby!

What does this feel like? -It is a strong uncontrollable urge that you can’t fight. To be honest it will feel like you have to poop really bad and trust me this is the biggest poop ever! lol. When you feel this urge to push, if you are able to (not attached to a standard epidural) find a position that will help you push the best. 

This could be laying on your side, squatting (on the bed or beside the bed), on all fours, on your knees, laying on your back what ever position helps you get enough ground to push. Make sure to follow your own instincts! You will feel them at this point. It is also good to be aware of what your healthcare provider is telling you.

Once your baby is almost here you will push out the babies head first (hopefully), once the head is out the rest of the body will follow.

Then you get your baby! Yay! They are here! Every mom dreams of this moment! After a long pregnancy to FINALLY feel your baby on your chest. Truly magical!

Stage Three

Delivering the Placenta

This is the stage the most women don’t know about or forget (because its boring! You already got your baby!) But it is the last step and a very necessary one. After your baby is born your uterus will start contracting and you will start to think, “what the freak?! I thought I was done.” Nope! Your uterus is contacting to help deliver the placenta. The placenta is the organ that helped your baby live! The babies umbilical cord attaches to it to provide nutrients from you to the baby.

The Doctor or midwife will help your uterus contract by pushing down onto your uterus, this feels very uncomfortable but it encourages the uterus to start contracting. By the uterus contracting it helps deliver the placenta AND helps you stop bleeding so much if you are hemorrhaging. The doctor or midwife may also give you a shot of Pitocin if your body needs help with this step.

Last step: The doctor will then sew you up if you tore at all. They will numb the area first if you didn’t get an epidural. 

TADA! All done with the birth part. Now onto recovery! If you want some tips on postpartum recovery visit my blog page about it! Click HERE!