Transition to the second stage of labor This can be the toughest and most painful part of labor. It can last 15 minutes to an hour. During the transition: Contractions come closer together and can last 60 to 90 seconds.
Second Stage or Active Labor
The second stage is the most painful stage of labor. The baby passes through the cervix, through the pelvis and birth canal, and out through the vaginal opening.
The third stage of labor is the shortest and the easiest. After your baby is born and the umbilical cord is cut, there is usually a lull for several minutes. Then your uterus starts contracting again. These contractions are not as strong as pushing contractions.
The First Stage of Labor. The first stage is the longest part of labor and can last up to 20 hours. It begins when your cervix starts to open (dilate) and ends when it is completely open (fully dilated) at 10 centimeters.
In this phase, your cervix will finish effacing and dilate to the full 10 centimeters. This phase may take anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours.
In the very early stages of labour, your cervix softens and becomes quite thin. This can go on for hours; days even. During this early stage you may feel nothing at all for some time. Eventually, you might feel some pain and discomfort but there is no pattern and the contractions are irregular.
Prodromal labor consists of contractions that can be fairly regular (between 5-10 minutes apart) and can be painful like active labor contractions, more so than Braxton Hicks contractions. Typically each contraction will last just shy of one minute. These contractions are preparatory.
When your baby is ready to begin the journey through the birth canal, your cervix dilates from fully closed to 10 centimeters. This process can take hours, days, or even weeks. But once you hit active labor – about 6 cm dilated – it's usually just a matter of hours before you reach full dilation.
The aftermath of the root canal can affect your daily activities for a couple of days, make it difficult to eat, and require pain medication. Women who have needed root canal say it is worse than childbirth.
The most common description of the level of pain experienced was extreme menstrual cramps (45 percent), while 16 percent said it was like bad back pain and 15 percent compared it to a broken bone.
Pain during labor is caused by contractions of the muscles of the uterus and by pressure on the cervix. This pain can be felt as strong cramping in the abdomen, groin, and back, as well as an achy feeling. Some women experience pain in their sides or thighs as well.
If your water (aka “amniotic sac,” “bag of waters” or “membranes”) hasn't broken on its own when you arrive at the hospital, and you're five or more centimeters dilated, your OB might recommend bursting the bag by hand—especially if your cervix seems to be making slow (or no) progress.
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.
The average labor lasts 12 to 24 hours for a first birth and is typically shorter (eight to 10 hours) for other births.
It is possible! I have been with many women in labour through the night and helped them fall asleep. They have continued on to have positive, healthy births and feel super proud of their efforts, albeit ready for a good sleep afterwards!
Spending most of your time in bed, especially lying on your back, or sitting up at a small angle, interferes with labor progress: Gravity works against you, and the baby might be more likely to settle into a posterior position. Pain might increase, especially back pain.
If the pains you are having are real labor, walking will make the contractions come closer together and they will be stronger, but you will be able to cope with them better if you are standing or moving around.
A C-section is major surgery. The procedure can increase complications for the mother and raise the risk during future pregnancies. Women giving birth for the first time should be allowed to push for at least three hours, the guidelines say. And if epidural anesthesia is used, they can push even longer.
Jill Everest has seen plenty of women in labor before and says women generally have their most difficult birth the first time around. She said generally the birth of the second child would be fast, and the third child would be faster than the mother's first but slower than the second.
What to Expect When You Arrive. When you arrive, we will evaluate you and your baby to check for labor progression. If you're less than 4 cm dilated: You might be sent home because your labor isn't active enough for hospital admission.
The second, pushing phase of labor continues after the cervix is fully dilated (open) to 10 cm until the delivery of your baby. It averages 4 to 8 hours but can be as short as several minutes.
Additionally, some hospitals will admit you if you are dilated four of five centimeters and are having regular, strong contractions—especially if it is not your first baby or you have a history of fast labors.
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.