Stages of Labour
STAGES OF LABOUR
Before you actually get into it, you might want to know what labour is?
Well, labour is a series of events that bring about the opening up of the cervix (opening of the mouth of uterus) descent of the foetus and finally the delivery of the baby and the afterbirths.
It is divided in to four stages:
1st STAGE
It is the beginning of labour. It commences with the onset of true pain and uterine contractions, which bring about gradual opening up of the cervix. The opening of cervix is assessed in terms of “centimeters” When the cervix is fully opened or dilated as it is medically referred to, it is approximately 10 cms in diameter. This is so because the diameter of the foetal head (biparietal diameter) is approximately 9.5 cms at full term.
The 1st stage can be divided in to 2 parts:
• (a) Latent phase:
This is the period from onset of true labour pain to the time when the cervix is approximately 3 cms dilated.
During this period the intensity and frequency of contraction and labour pain is less and the progress is slow.
This may last for varying lengths of time from 6 hours to as much as 24 hours (rarely for 72 days up to a week).
In primigravida (woman pregnant for the first time) it is longer than compared to a multigravida (woman with more deliveries in the past).
The duration labour itself is usually shorter in women who have delivered previously.
• (b) Active Phase:
This is the part of labour where cervix dilates from 3 cms to 10 cms (full dilatation). During this phase there is progressive increase in the intensity, duration and frequency of uterine contraction and labour pains. This is to facilitate the descent of the baby in to your pelvis and also to force open the cervix completely so that delivery can take place. This stage in an average lasts for 4 – 8 hours. It is usually shorter in women who have experienced labour before and longer in first timers.
Since pain is a relative / subjective feeling, it may be
Before you actually get into it, you might want to know what labour is?
Well, labour is a series of events that bring about the opening up of the cervix (opening of the mouth of uterus) descent of the foetus and finally the delivery of the baby and the afterbirths.
It is divided in to four stages:
1st STAGE
It is the beginning of labour. It commences with the onset of true pain and uterine contractions, which bring about gradual opening up of the cervix. The opening of cervix is assessed in terms of “centimeters” When the cervix is fully opened or dilated as it is medically referred to, it is approximately 10 cms in diameter. This is so because the diameter of the foetal head (biparietal diameter) is approximately 9.5 cms at full term.
The 1st stage can be divided in to 2 parts:
• (a) Latent phase:
This is the period from onset of true labour pain to the time when the cervix is approximately 3 cms dilated.
During this period the intensity and frequency of contraction and labour pain is less and the progress is slow.
This may last for varying lengths of time from 6 hours to as much as 24 hours (rarely for 72 days up to a week).
In primigravida (woman pregnant for the first time) it is longer than compared to a multigravida (woman with more deliveries in the past).
The duration labour itself is usually shorter in women who have delivered previously.
• (b) Active Phase:
This is the part of labour where cervix dilates from 3 cms to 10 cms (full dilatation). During this phase there is progressive increase in the intensity, duration and frequency of uterine contraction and labour pains. This is to facilitate the descent of the baby in to your pelvis and also to force open the cervix completely so that delivery can take place. This stage in an average lasts for 4 – 8 hours. It is usually shorter in women who have experienced labour before and longer in first timers.
Since pain is a relative / subjective feeling, it may be