You've heard it before, but we'll say it again: Use this time to take care of you, before you have to take care of baby. Sleep, read, go to the movies—anything that distracts you from the Big Waiting Game. Oh, and it's a good idea to turn off the ringer on your phone and let voice mail take the calls.
So many of my clients go into labor, or begin having contractions in the middle of the night. If this is your first baby, you are probably feeling very excited that the time is finally here! If this is your second or third baby, you are probably feeling very excited that this is finally here!
If you're in early labor, your contractions aren't back-to-back or extremely painful and you feel the urge to poop, chances are, you really do have to go. Poop happens in labor in tandem with all those contractions as a natural way to clean house in preparation for baby.
In nature, when a laboring animal feels threatened or disturbed, the stress hormone catecholamine shuts down labor. Similarly, when a laboring woman does not feel safe or protected or when the progress of her normal labor is altered, catecholamine levels rise and labor slows down or stops.
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.
Medical interventions can speed up labor, but there are other ways to encourage dilation. They include moving around, rocking on an exercise ball, using relaxation techniques, and laughing. Dilation is a term that describes the widening of the cervical opening.
However, there is research that shows walking can help with labor and delivery. A 2021 study of 102 pregnant women who walked for 40 minutes, four times a week, from 34 weeks gestation, were more likely to have a spontaneous onset of labor and were less likely to need an induction, C-section, or instrumental delivery.
"The best thing I did was meditation, including positive visualisation. After a difficult first birth I found I could create my own positive space and vibe the second time. I felt calm and together even when I was in pain." Complementary therapies, such as acupuncture may also help you relax.
How did the mother of the longest recorded human pregnancy manage the duration of her pregnancy? The mother of the longest recorded human pregnancy was Beulah Hunter, who gave birth to a healthy baby girl after 375 days of pregnancy.
Many doctors recommend that women in labor sit upright or walk to speed things along. But a randomized trial suggests the best bet may be to lie on your side.
In this course, you will learn about the five “P”s of labor (passenger, passage, powers, placenta, and psychology) and how they relate to the birthing process.
The later months of pregnancy may leave you feeling tired and sore. However, one of the early signs of labor is fatigue. You may feel extremely tired, even if you have been getting plenty of rest. This is because your body is working hard to get ready for labor and delivery.
Different hospitals have different definitions of 'slow labour', but the main way to spot the signs of slow labour is to measure the rate at which your cervix dilates. If this is less than 0.5cm per hour over a four-hour period, Mother Nature might need a helping hand.
And Oxytocin, the hormone that gets your uterus contracting (among other things) is suppressed by stress hormones. And less oxytocin means a labour that is slow to start, a longer labour and a labour needing to be augmented with Pitocin, a synthetic oxytocin.
Stress levels: Researchers theorize that severe emotional stress — not the kind caused by those raging hormones or a bad day, but the kind that's related to a traumatic experience — can lead to the release of hormones that in turn trigger labor contractions.
According to the "411 Rule" (commonly recommended by doulas and midwives), you should go to the hospital when your contractions are coming regularly 4 minutes apart, each one lasts at least 1 minute, and they have been following this pattern for at least 1 hour. You may also hear about the 511 rule.
Contractions: Throughout the second half of your pregnancy you may have noticed your abdomen getting hard, then soft again, or you may feel like the baby is “balling up”. These irregular contractions may increase in frequency and intensity as your due date approaches. They may become very uncomfortable or even painful.
Our general rule is to sleep as long as possible if you're starting to feel contractions at night. Most of the time you can lay down and rest during early labor. If you wake up in the middle of the night and notice contractions, get up and use the bathroom, drink some water, and GO BACK TO BED.