OPPapers.com

Labor

Having a baby is one of the most exciting experiences of your life. It can also be quite stressful if you do not know what to expect. One of the most important items on your list of things to do should be taking a childbirth education class. Childbirth education classes will help you prepare for the birth of your baby by providing an overview of what you can expect from your body, your health care service providers and from your baby during this time. You will learn about options to increase your comfort and reduce anxiety, such as using a labor doula. Knowing your options and being prepared will result in a birth that is more productive, more comfortable, and faster.
One of the first items addressed in childbirth education classes is what to expect during the different stages of labor. Labor occurs in three stages. The first stage of labor is divided into three separate phases: the early phase, active phase, and the transitional phase. The second stage is pushing and delivering the baby, and the third stage is the delivery of the placenta.
In the first stage of labor during the early phase, you may begin to experience back ache and mild labor pains that are irregular at first. You will lose your mucous plug, which will lead to an increase in vaginal discharge with bloody streaks; that is called "show" and results from small capillaries opening from the stretching and thinning out of the bottom of the uterus, the cervix. For most women, this stage is fifteen to twenty hours long with a first birth. The cervix will soften and efface (or thin out) and dilate (or open). The best way to imagine this process is to think of popping a lifesaver into your mouth. Feel with your tongue how thick the middle is and how small the center opening. If you felt that lifesaver ten minutes later, the middle would be very thin and the opening much wider. The same thinning and opening occurs at the cervix. You may also have loose stools and menstrual-like cramping.
However, very...