The Different Stages and Characteristics of Labor

Each woman’s body is different and every delivery and labor is different. Even a woman that has had children before will be able to notice that sometimes labor varies from one to another. Deliveries are always a surprising thing as there are times in which they can take a long time and others in which they occur very quickly. There are however, certain predictable patterns that are clearly identifiable and which follow a pretty standard rhythm.

Doctors will generally be able to control the way labor progresses by internal exams that are done every few hours. The easiness of the progress during labor is measured by the speed with which the neck of the uterus expands and the easiness with which the fetus descends through the pelvis and the birth canal. By measuring the cervical dilation and the fetal station and writing down the results, the doctor is able to control the progress of the labor objectively. By means of a special graph, the doctor can compare how the labor advances in relation to a standard curve that represents the average.

The doctors are sure to check to see if the labor is too slow or if the neck of the uterus stops expanding and the fetus doesn't descend. They have an abbreviated system to describe the variables that determine the grade of easiness or difficulty with which the woman is progressing in labor: the three P's (passenger, pelvis, potency). In other words the size and position of the baby (passenger), the size of the pelvis (pelvis), and the force of the contractions (potency) are all important factors. If the labor doesn't progress as usual, it can be indication that the baby would be better if he/she were born with attendance, forceps or aspirating extractor, or a cesarean operation.

If this is your first experience at labor, the whole process usually lasts between twelve and fourteen hours; in childbirths after that, the process is usually shorter though, taking approximately around eight hours.