2. Your joints, hips, and pelvis relax and open
Ligaments soften
Baby may drop deeper into your pelvis
Other signs:
› Loose stool, more mucus discharge or cramping
Reminder: Everyone’s body is different so there can
be varying signs of pre-labor.
Know your body and listen to it.
3. Warm-up or Pre-labor
Stage 1- Latent Stage
› Dilate 4-5cm
› Contractions are short (5-20min apart)
› pain stronger
› Not time to go to hospital/birthing center
Active Phase
› Contractions last 45-60 seconds
› More intense
› Time to gather support people and go to hospital/birthing center
Transition Phase
Stage 2 – Pushing/ Giving Birth
Stage 3 – Delivery of Placenta
Stage 4 – Recovery
› There is a great chart in the book that discusses how long each stage lasts, dilation
of cervix, pain, and other things that may happen during each stage.
4. Movement, position, and Rhythm
› Walking, swaying, lunging, moving on birthing ball, and
dancing
Comfort water
› Found to relax both mother and baby reducing mothers
pain
Breathing
› Concentrating on your breath can relax muscles and get
rid of tension
Hypnosis
Touch
› Touch is powerful and can reduce anxiety
5. Heat and Cold
Either can be soothing on the back or abdomen
Medications
› Not available in outside of hospital births
› Usually a narcotic
Injectable or Intravenous Opioids
› Morphine, Demerol, etc
Epidurals and Spinals
› Used to numb from the waste down
› Epidurals is a catheter placed into the epidural space of
spine
› Spinal is a one time injection into the spinal cord
6. › Two ways to give birth
Vaginal
Cesarean section
More intense contractions start
10cm dilated
Most women start to help by pushing to push the
baby through the vagina
There are times when pushing does not work and
assistance is needed from vacuum extractor or
forceps
7. Birth by Cesarean section
› Surgical removal of baby by an incision in the lower belly
region
› Certain circumstances like position of baby is wrong, or
health complications of mother or baby
Delivery of placenta
› Completes birthing process
› Must naturally come out of your body provider should not
pull it out
8. Because everyone’s bodies are so
different to you believe that anyone can
be fully prepared to give birth?