How to Deal With Second Stage Labor

Labor consists of three stages. The second stage of labor involve pushing and delivery of a baby. The pushing stage of labor begins when the cervix fully dilates to 10 cm. This stage of labor normally take between 1 and 4 hours. Contractions come in every 3 to 5 minutes and last from 60 to 90 seconds. During this stage, women also experience the uncontrollable urge to push. The second stage of labor finishes with the delivery of your baby.

Instructions

• 1

  Find the position that you feel most comfortable and efficient. The best positions for most people are semi-sitting or squatting. The semi-sitting position is the most common position especially if you use epidural. Squatting helps to open the pelvic and to encourage your baby to come down. You may also try lying on the side or being on all fours.

• 2

  Relax your shoulders, neck and legs. You only use abdominal and uterine muscles to push.

• 3

  Rest between contractions. Push as often as your body tells you across the peak of each contraction. However, if your birth attendant tells you not to push, you must follow her instruction. Try to relax your perineum.

• 4

  Use a mirror to watch the progress when you push. Having a mirror will let you see how effective your pushing is.

• 5

  Imagine that your baby is moving down the birth canal to cope with the pain.

• 6

  Remember to breath every 6 to 9 seconds during pushing.