Vaginal delivery

Signs of labour

Three common signs that indicate labour:

• Mucus plug:  Show of blood stained mucus

• Water breaks:  Membranes surrounding the baby rupture

• The start of regular contractions

Other danger signs, come to hospital immediately

• Any vaginal bleeding

• When the baby is not moving as regular as you are used to

Stages of labour:

Latent stage:

• Cervix has begun to dilate from 0-3cm

• This is the longest stage and can take 8-12 hours

• Contractions last about 30 seconds and can be every 5-20 minutes

Active phase:

• Cervix is dilating at approximately 1cm per hour

• 3-8 cm dilatation 

• Contractions last 50 seconds and comes every 3-4 minutes

Transition:

• 8-10 cm dilatation

• Contractions 40-60 seconds and every 2 minutes

• Can start to experience an urge to push because the baby is moving down into the birth canal

Pushing to birth:

• Contractions 60 seconds and every 2 minutes

• Can last up to 2 hours

Baby’s skull:

• Leaving gaps which forms sutures and fontanelles

• Fontanelles are soft spots on top of the baby’s head where bones haven’t fused yet

• Moulding: Change in the shape of the foetal head during passage through the birth canal.  This is a protective mechanism and prevents the brain from being compressed by overlapping of the skull bones