There is no definitive answer to “how long does labor last?” . It is very relative to define it, since the time that elapses from the first contraction to the birth of the baby varies greatly from one woman to another . Various factors intervene in the duration of a birth, such as whether you are a new mother or not, the position of the baby and your emotional state, among many others.
Every birth is different, because every woman is different. There are women who can go into labor for several days while others give birth in a few hours. Even so, we are going to explain how a childbirth takes place and give you as a reference more or less the time pattern that the phases of childbirth usually have: latent dilation, active dilation, expulsive and delivery.
Latent dilation: 10-12 hours or days
A few days before labor begins, you will experience what are known as labor prodromes, so called because they are predecessors of an event, announcing that labor is approaching.
You will feel contractions that may be uncomfortable, but they are not painful, and they are not rhythmic or regular either. If you change your position, the contractions usually stop and their function is to erase and soften the cervix prior to dilation.
Latent dilation or passive or early dilation is usually the longest and least intense phase.
There are women who can spend several days in this phase , as their neck dilates very little by little, while in others it happens hours before the baby is born, the average being about 10-12 hours .
They are not the so-called false Braxton Hicks contractions that train the uterine muscle, but neither are they the intense contractions that take place during dilation before delivery.
In the latent phase, the cervix softens until it reaches 3-4 cm of dilation, which is when the next phase begins, that of active dilation .
Active dilation: two and a half hours
It is the phase that runs from 3-4 cm until the cervix reaches 10 cm of dilation to open the birth canal and allow the baby to exit.
In the active dilation phase, uterine contractions are rhythmic, progressive and intense . Rhythmic means that they take place every regular periods that are shortened. Progressive, which increases its duration reaching approximately 60 seconds. And intense, as the name suggests, means they are painful.
This phase is faster than the first. There is a first stage of accelerated dilation up to 5-6 cm of dilation, which can last a couple of hours , and a second of advanced dilation until the complete effacement of the cervix. The dilation process of the last 4-5 cm is usually faster, in 15-20 minutes , at most half an hour.
In both phases of dilation, the woman has to be free of movements , to adopt the postures that are most comfortable for her to better withstand the pain of contractions. Staying still does not help the process, in fact standing or walking has been shown to shorten dilation.
It is also advisable to get into a bathtub with warm water, as it relieves the pain of contractions and helps to soften the perineum and relax the muscles, thus shortening the process.
Most likely, during active dilation, bag rupture occurs. Not all women break their waters in the same phase of labor. Some break before contractions begin, others during the dilation phase, while others do not break water until the moment of delivery.
Expulsive: between 30 and 60 minutes
When the cervix is fully dilated, the mother usually feels great pressure on her lower back and / or on the perineum, causing a strong urge to push , a sensation known as the push reflex, an instinctive need. and physiological that should not be controlled or directed.
If the amniotic sac has not ruptured yet, it usually ruptures spontaneously at this stage.
This physiological need to push causes the woman to start pushing with each contraction when she feels she must. Contractions are very intense in this phase and last between 60 and 90 seconds . The perception of pain in these moments is very different according to the woman, sometimes they feel like more painful contractions than the previous ones, sometimes the fact of pushing makes the pain less felt.
The woman should be free to choose the position of childbirth she wishes to give birth, lying down, on her side, sitting, squatting, standing, being the vertical ones the most suitable because they are the ones that, with the help of gravity and due to the pressure that the head makes on the perineum, facilitate the expulsion.
With each contraction, the baby goes down the birth canal until the head appears. Once the head is released, the shoulders and the rest of the body come out.
This expulsion phase can be of very variable duration, approximately between 30 and 60 minutes when it comes to the first birth and between 15 and 30 minutes when there have been other deliveries .
Delivery: 10 to 30 minutes or more
Labor does not end with the birth of the baby. There is a final phase known as delivery, which consists of the exit of the placenta, membranes, and the rest of the cord. It does not happen immediately upon delivery of the baby, and it occurs when the cord stops beating.
The cord cut should be done at least three minutes after birth, or preferably once the cord stops beating.
The most common is that the placenta comes out between 10 and 30 minutes after the baby is born , although it can also take an hour or more .
Contractions in this stage, responsible for detaching and expelling the placenta, are hardly painful. The upright position also aids in the birthing process, causing the placenta to pass into the lower segment of the uterus and into the vagina to be removed.
While waiting for the placenta to come out, it is a precious moment for the newborn to be placed skin-to-skin with the mother and they can recognize each other. That first contact is the magical instant of imprinting, in which the baby is able to instinctively crawl onto its mother’s breast to suckle.
In Babies and more | How will I know that I am in labor? Unmistakable signs that the day has come
