The 1st stage of Labour
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The First Stage |
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The Second Stage |
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The Third Stage |
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Caring for yourself after the Birth |
Stage one labour consists of three parts: early labour, active
labour and transition.
Early labour
During the first stage, contractions dilate (open) the cervix to 10 cm. or five fingers wide the size needed for your baby's head to be able to fit through and be pushed out of the uterus. Dilation is usually slow during early labour, and it usually takes much longer to go from one to three fingers dilation than to go from three fingers to full dilation. A woman having her second baby, may find that her cervix dilates rapidly, particularly once she has reached 5 or 6 cm. dilation.This first stage may last eight to sixteen hours with a first baby, but as each labour is entirely individual, it can be longer or shorter than this. Early labour is often the least uncomfortable and easiest part to handle, and many women stay at home until this phase has passed.
As the cervix continues to dilate, the strength and frequency of the contractions gradually increase, and you will start to experience discomfort over the whole uterus. When the cervix is dilated to 4cm., the longest part of labour is over at last.
Active labour
Active labour is the stage during which the cervix dilates from 4 to 7 cm. By the time you are 6 cm. dilated, the contractions may be very strong and will gradually increase in frequency, until they occur every two to three minutes and last about 60 seconds. You may feel an uncomfortable tightening and tension and then a gradual lessening of pressure until the contraction subsides.Transition
Transition is the phase when the cervix dilates from 8 to 10 cm. and it is during this stage that your bag of waters is most likely to break. This is often considered the most painful part of labour and can be quite distressing to the mother, who may show common signs of irritability, shaking, hot and cold flushes, leg cramps, nausea and vomiting. These sensations can become quite overwhelming but, fortunately it is the shortest phase of the entire process, lasting from anything between 20 to 90 minutes and with your partner or doctor reminding you that these unpleasant symptoms indicate that your baby will be born soon, it will ease some of the negative feelings you may experience.
