The stages of a vaginal birth
For women who deliver vaginally, childbirth progresses in three stages:
Stage 1: Labor
Labor itself is divided into three phases — early labor, active labor and transitional labor. All women who deliver vaginally will experience all three phases of labor, though you may not notice the first phase at all. The timing and intensity of contractions can help clue you in to which phase of labor you’re in, while periodic physical exams will confirm your progress.
Stage 2: Pushing and delivery of the baby
This is when your cervix reaches the magic 10 cm mark — meaning you’re fully dilated. Now it’s your turn to push your baby the rest of the way through the birth canal, unless you’re laboring down (in which case you’ll catch a break for a few minutes to an hour while your uterus does most of the work bringing baby farther down into the birth canal).
You may wonder: Does pushing hurt more than contractions? Most women actually find that transitional labor, or those last 2 to 3 cm of dilation, is the most demanding and intense phase of labor — but it’s fortunately also the shortest, usually lasting 15 minutes to an hour. As your baby crowns and you push him or her out, you will feel a tingling, stretching or burning sensation.
Stage 3: Delivery of the placenta
The worst is over. In this final stage of labor, you’ll continue to have mild contractions as your practitioner helps you deliver your baby’s placenta. He and she will examine it as well as your uterus to be sure everything’s as expected.
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