Your cervix needs to open about 10cm for your baby to pass through it. This is what's called being fully dilated. In a 1st labour, the time from the start of established labour to being fully dilated is usually 8 to 12 hours. It's often quicker (around 5 hours), in a 2nd or 3rd pregnancy.
During the active stage of labor, your cervix dilates from around 6 cm to the full 10 cm. (The last part of active labor, when the cervix dilates fully from 8 to 10 cm, is called transition.) This process takes about 5 to 7 hours if you're a first-time mom, or between 2 and 4 hours if you've had a baby before.
Your cervix is also dilated by around 4 to 7 centimeters. Someone who has never given birth before may be in active labor for around three to six hours; a person who's done it before might take one to three hours.
Your cervix will dilate from 4cm to 7cm. Contractions during this phase will last about 45-60 seconds with 3-5 minutes rest in between. Contractions will feel stronger and longer. This is when you can receive pain relief such as an epidural.
It usually takes from 15 minutes to an hour for the cervix to dilate from 8 to 10 centimeters. Contractions are 2 to 3 minutes apart and last about 1 minute. You may feel pressure on your rectum and your backache may feel worse.
Until recently, women have been asked to start pushing as soon as the cervix has dilated to 10 centimeters, but as long as you do not have a fever and your baby's heart rate is normal, there are many benefits to waiting to push until you feel the need to push.
Doctors have to wait until the cervix is at least 4 centimeters dilated before doing an epidural. Otherwise, the epidural will slow the process down too much. However, once the cervix becomes fully dilated it is too late for an epidural to be given.
During active labor, your cervix will dilate from 6 centimeters (cm) to 10 cm. Your contractions will become stronger, closer together and regular. Your legs might cramp, and you might feel nauseated. You might feel your water break — if it hasn't already — and experience increasing pressure in your back.
(Some OBs will go ahead and break your water at 3 or 4 centimeters.) The reasoning behind this: “Artificial rupture of membranes” (popping a hole in the amniotic sac) will usually jumpstart labor by getting serious contractions underway.
As baby descends and applies pressure to the cervix, back pain can begin or worsen. Early dilation often feels like menstrual cramps as the cervical changes cause pain and cramping noticed in the lower part of the uterus. It is the same sensation and location as menstrual cramps.
The pain experienced during dilation is similar to that of menstruation (although markedly more intense), as period pains are thought to be due to the passing of endometrium through the cervix. Most of the pain during labor is caused by the uterus contracting to dilate the cervix.
The cervix generally needs to be dilated to 10 centimeters before it's ready for the baby to pass through. Your cervix can be dilated to a couple of centimeters for a few weeks before delivery. This softening can cause the mucus plug to be dislodged and come out.
Your cervix needs to open about 10cm for your baby to pass through it. This is what's called being fully dilated. In a 1st labour, the time from the start of established labour to being fully dilated is usually 8 to 12 hours. It's often quicker (around 5 hours), in a 2nd or 3rd pregnancy.
Stage two: full dilation and pushing
Once the cervix has reached 10 cm, it is time to push the baby out. Contractions continue but also produce a strong urge to push. This urge might feel like an intense need to have a bowel movement. This stage can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
Getting up and moving around may help speed dilation by increasing blood flow. Walking around the room, doing simple movements in bed or chair, or even changing positions may encourage dilation. This is because the weight of the baby applies pressure to the cervix.
Vaginal birth is still recommended is your baby is estimated to weigh less than 5,000 g (10 lbs) if you don't have diabetes. If your baby is estimated to weigh more than 4,500 g (8.4 lbs), and your labor stalls in the active stage or the baby doesn't descend, this is an indication for cesarean delivery.
If one fingertip fits, the cervix is considered to be 1 cm dilated. If the tips of two fingers fit, this means the cervix is 2 cm dilated. Depending on the distance the two fingers can stretch apart, it's possible to indicate further dilation. It is usual to refer to full dilation as 10 centimeters.
Active labor may last anywhere from about two to 24 hours (though the average is two to three-and-a-half hours), while transitional labor can last anywhere from 15 minutes to about three hours.
"As soon as someone is admitted to the hospital, they're kind of on the clock," Caughey said. -If women aren't too tired, allow them to push at least two hours if they have delivered before, three hours if it's their first baby. They may push longer if they had an epidural as long as the doctor can see progress.
Recent research has suggested that 6 cm of cervical dilation should be the threshold for the active labor phase, and it has confirmed that epidural analgesia (EA) is a safe method of pain relief during labor.
When can you get an epidural? Typically, you can receive an epidural as early as when you are 4 to 5 centimeters dilated and in active labor. Normally, it takes about 15 minutes to place the epidural catheter and for the pain to start subsiding and another 20 minutes to go into full effect.
Does an epidural slow down labor? There's no evidence that an epidural will slow down labor, but getting one may extend the length of the second stage of labor by an hour or more with your first baby and less with subsequent children, according to some research.
Contractions help push your baby out of your uterus. Your provider may recommend inducing labor if your health or your baby's health is at risk or if you're 2 weeks or more past your due date. For some women, inducing labor is the best way to keep mom and baby healthy. Inducing labor should be for medical reasons only.