The Three Stages Of Labor
Labor is described in three stages, and together these stages complete the delivery and the passage of the placenta.
Stage One
The first stage is the process of reaching full cervical dilatation. This begins with the onset of uterine labor contractions, and it is the longest phase of labor. The first stage is divided into three phases: latent, active, and deceleration.
- In the latent phase, the contractions become more frequent, stronger, and gain regularity, and most of the change of the cervix involves thinning, or effacement. The latent phase is the most variable from woman to woman, and from labor to labor. It may take a few days, or be as short as a few hours. We typically expect the latent phase to be 10 to 12 hours for a woman who has had children, and for your first pregnancy it may last closer to 20 hours. For many women, the latent phase of labor can be confused with Braxton Hicks contractions. Membranes will spontaneously rupture in the early- to mid-portion of the first stage of labor. Once they rupture, the labor process usually speeds up.
- The next portion of the first phases of labor is the active phase, which is the phase of the most rapid cervical dilatation. For most women this is from 3 to 4 centimeters of dilatation until 8 to 9 centimeters of dilatation. The active phase is the most predictable, lasting an average of five hours in women who have not previously birthed children, and two hours in multiparas (women who have had children).
- Finally, there is the deceleration phase during which the cervical dilation continues, but at a slower pace, until full dilation. In some women the deceleration phase is not really noticeable, blending into the active phase. This is also a phase of more rapid descent, when the baby is passing lower into the pelvis and deeper into the birth canal.
Stage Two
The second stage is the delivery of the infant. This stage takes a few minutes of pushing in some women, and for others it may be normal to push for 3 to 4 hours.
Stage Three
The third stage of labor is the passage of the placenta, which can be immediate, or take up to thirty minutes, and may be sped up naturally by breast-feeding (which releases oxytocin), or medically by administering pitocin.
Review Date: June 29, 2001
Reviewed By: Peter Chen, M.D., Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare
Network.
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