Once the mother is pushing the baby out, contractions work to squeeze the amniotic fluid from the baby’s lungs. This sends a message to the baby’s brain to look for other sources of energy. In order to jump start this process, the baby’s heart rate will decrease slightly during the Latent phase of Second Stage. The baby must begin breathing on their own very quickly so that the lungs, blood, and heart can adjust to life without amniotic fluid and a placenta. Many systems have to turn on very quickly after birth, including the respiratory system. Meanwhile, the baby is preparing their own body to survive outside the womb. The vertical muscles turn off and the horizontal uterine muscles begin to contract and squeeze the baby down, around, and out. During the active pushing phase, completely different muscle fibers must fire. Although she was just going through intense contractions without much break in between, the body can stop to rest. For anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours, a woman can seem to not be doing anything at all. After the uterus has fully opened and softened, and when left to its own devices without any interruption, the uterus will usually take a break to rest from the work of dilation. Uterine muscles that run vertically contract during the dilation phase in order to pull up and open the cervix. The uterus is contracting in multiple directions for different purposes, and not always at a steady pace. There are many systems at work and interplaying during childbirth. So, let’s take a step back and look at the physiology of the Latent Phase of Second Stage of Labor. Confused, yet wanting to do it correctly, the woman will often acquiesce to the shouts of, “push, push!” Instead of being in charge of her birth, she is merely a bystander. The woman then is instructed in what to do. In births, I commonly hear from the OB, “Since you’re fully dilated, I want you to try to push on the next contraction and let’s see what happens.” Then the OB glares at the monitor and the woman’s vagina until the nurse says there’s a contraction. The baby’s heart rate can usually decrease a bit during this phase, which concerns the doctor and looks like fetal distress. Most people, including doctors, assume that as soon as a woman has reached 10 cm in dilation, she will be automatically “ready to push.” Regardless of how the woman is physically feeling, it is commonly thought that her body is prepared to push. What is fascinating to look at is the Latent Phase of the Second Stage of labor. It’s end signifies the end of childbirth. It usually takes an average of 30 minutes after the birth of the baby. The Third Stage is the birth of the placenta. Second Stage ends at the birth of the baby and can last anywhere from 20 minutes to 4 or more hours. Phase One is the latent phase, which is a time of rest for the body before the woman feels the urge to push. This is the longest stage of labor and involves most of the contractions and pain associated with childbirth. This stage ends when you are 10 cm dilated and fully effaced. Phase Two is active labor when cervical dilation is 4+cm and contractions are steady and consistent. Phase One is early labor when cervical dilation is below 4 cm and contractions are not steady or consistent. The First Stage is cervical dilation and effacement. Let’s take a simple look at what goes on in the body during birth. In the moment of truth, when you’re pushing out your baby in one glorious moment of power, what and who do you see around you? What do you hear? Is the room dark and quiet or bright and bustling? Are you afraid or courageous? What about the people around you? If there is a doctor or midwife, are they yelling or quiet? Are they touching you or hands-off? What about the support team? Who are they and what are they doing?Īsk yourself this: When I’m pushing out my baby, what do I want? I would encourage you to really take the time to sift through your own preconceived thoughts and beliefs about childbirth and question each one individually. What do you do with these fears when you discover you’re pregnant? Who wouldn’t be?īut is the media’s portrayal of childbirth truly realistic? It’s what we’ve come to expect, right? No wonder women are afraid of giving birth. There’s generally lots of yelling, panic, and terror. The water breaks.and all hell breaks loose. We’ve all seen the TV shows and movies where women are giving birth.
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