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The First Stage
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.
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