Your doctor or your childbirth instructor may mention the stages of labor. There are three stages of labor. The division between these three stages is clearer cut on paper than it is in real labor; they exist to help describe where a woman is in the labor process and nothing else. They may seem to blend together during the actual experience. The three stages of labor are dilation (and effacement), pushing, and birthing the placenta. The first stage of labor is often the longest, especially for first time mothers. The cervix must completely open and stretch back into the upper … Continue reading →