Stages of Childbirth

Pregnancy and childbirth are miraculous. Creating and building a life inside your body is something that not everyone has the privilege -- or body parts -- to accomplish. It's something women experience only a limited number of times in their lives, and for many mothers-to-be the thought of giving birth is both terrifying and exciting. On one hand you are excited to meet your new baby; on the other hand you've heard all of the horror stories and you know it's not going to be comfortable giving birth. Before you get to the point in your pregnancy where labor could happen at any moment, educate yourself on the stages of childbirth to familiarize yourself with the process.

Early Labor

• Early labor is the longest and the most comfortable stage of labor. Early labor begins as long as weeks before you give birth. Over the course of weeks, days or even just hours, your cervix dilates, which means it opens to accommodate the baby's size during birth. Your cervix will dilate to 10 cm before you begin pushing; however, once it reaches 3 cm the cervix also begins to thin, which you will hear referred to as "effacement." You must be 100 percent effaced and 10 cm dilated to begin pushing. There is no set amount of time for your body to complete this process -- it differs for every woman. But you very likely won't know your body is even in the process of early labor until much closer to the time of your actual delivery. When you begin feeling contractions, you need to time them from the beginning of one to the beginning of the next. Your doctor has already provided you with a time frame to leave for the hospital, which is generally when your contractions become painful and close together. This is when early labor comes to an end and active labor begins.

Active Labor

• By the time active labor starts, most women are already checked in at the hospital or birthing center. Your cervix is close to being dilated 7 cm and your painful contractions are coming very close together and lasting longer than they did during early labor. Active labor is typically very short, lasting only a few hours. During active labor you should try to relax as much as possible; this is especially easy if you are already in the hospital and have elected to receive an epidural, which is a drug used to ease the pain of your contractions.

Transitional Labor

• The last phase of labor is transitional labor, which is the shortest but also the most painful phase you will experience. During transitional labor your cervix expands, typically in about an hour, from 7 to 10 cm while you experience intense contractions every minute to a minute and a half. While experiencing transitional labor, women feel an intense pressure in the lower back, which according to one mother feels like you have to have a bowel movement multiplied by a thousand. This feeling means it is almost time to begin pushing. Inform your doctor/midwife/doula immediately when you begin experiencing this feeling.

Delivery

• Now that your cervix is 100 percent effaced and dilated to 10 cm, it's time to push the baby out. This process does not have a specific time frame. It can last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, and other than pushing when you are contracting, there is nothing you can do to speed the process. If you haven't given birth before, and even if you have, your doctor will guide you through this process by telling you when to push, how long to push and when to relax and breathe. At the end of this process your new baby will appear and you will meet her for the first time.

Placenta

• Many women believe that once the baby is out, birth is over. This is not accurate. Once the baby is out you still must deliver the placenta, which is what provided nutrition and oxygen to your little one for the past 40 weeks. The delivery of the placenta is not as painful or as long as the delivery of your baby, and you will receive assistance from your doctor getting the placenta out. Then you are completely finished with childbirth, and you can begin enjoying your new little one and all of the changes she will bring to your life.