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 body of the uterus so that the cervix and the vagina become one continuous opening for the baby to come out. This process is called dilation and effacement, and is similar to pulling a turtleneck back over the baby’s head. The force behind this progression is a series of powerful uterine contractions, which intensify over time. The uterus itself is a muscle, and with each contraction it flexes and shortens, pushing the baby down and out. Contractions can be seen from the outside as the stomach hardens and appears to “cone.” True contractions, as opposed to Braxton Hicks contractions, come at regular intervals, become longer and stronger, and come closer to together as labor progresses. Many women describe them as waves. While Braxton Hicks feel like an even tightening across the entire abdomen, true contractions seem to begin from the sides and back and radiate downward to the front. They also often cause a sensation of very strong pressure on the cervix. It may feel like the baby’s head is coming out, even though it is not. Some women may experience a very painful back ache if they are having back labor.
The first stage of labor lasts until the cervix is fully dilated to ten centimeters, which is really just a rough estimate. As labor transitions into the second stage, some women might experience strange symptoms like nausea or intense shivering. Finally the laboring woman will begin to feel the urge to push (unless she is numb from medication, of course). With that, the hardest part of having a baby is over.
Come back to learn more about stage two!