Child Birth
After nine long and anxious months of pregnancy, the process of child birth finally begins. The process takes place in three stages, each one very distinct from the others.
Active labor is the beginning stage of child birth although it follows a period often called the latent phase in which many expectant mothers feel painless contractions, called Braxton-Hicks contractions, of the uterus, which frequently begin around week 26 of the pregnancy.
These preliminary contractions can be confusing, especially to first-time mothers, and are often referred to as false, or practice, labor. They occur infrequently, do not initiate or speed up the child birth process, and they produce little if any pain. It is a common belief that an inadequate intake of water can lead to Braxton-Hicks contractions so it is important for all expectant mothers to drink plenty of water throughout the pregnancy.
Once the active stage of labor begins, however, there is no mistaking these contractions for those produced as Braxton-Hicks contractions. The accompanying dilation of the cervix produces a visual sign to the mother's caregiver that child birth is imminent.
Women often claim to know actual labor has begun when their water breaks, meaning membranes surrounding the baby and placenta are ruptured as the baby presses down on the mother's pelvic area. Not all women experience this "show" but other unmistakable signs of child birth quickly become apparent.
This part of the child birth process varies in time from both mother to mother and from child to child born to the same mother. The average length of labor for a first-time delivery is eight hours. It's usually shorter, sometimes by half or more, for second and subsequent deliveries.
During the second stage of child birth, the actual delivery, the baby begins to emerge. The cervix continues to dilate to about 10 centimeters, or big enough to accommodate an emerging baby's head. The head and shoulders are the largest part of a newborn baby and, in most births, this is the part of the baby seen first.
The final stage of childbirth, expulsion of the placenta, often occurs within the first 15 minutes after the delivery of the baby is complete. Breastfeeding a child as soon after delivery as possible helps to produce the uterine contractions that will expel the placenta from the womb.
After nine long and anxious months of pregnancy and spending the better part of the day with the process of child birth, the real fun begins. Now there's a living, breathing human child to raise, to feed and clothe. To teach the ABCs, to send off to school. To teach to drive. To watch and worry about. For the rest of your lives.