Birth affirmations and other words of encouragement.Forward leaning on partner, ball, or bed.Many parents find the following ways of coping to be helpful as labor progresses on into active labor.
In early labor it may have been easy to answer questions from a spouse or think about what needs to be done before heading to the hospital, but in active labor the thinking mind slowly drifts away and is replaced by a more “in the moment” mindset I call labor land. In between contractions, some parents may still feel like their normal selves, but as labor moves towards transition, this feeling eventually goes away. During each contraction parents stop and actively cope because active labor demands all their focus and energy. In active labor, parents must do something to deal with the intensity of labor. However, during active labor, things are much different. For example, a woman could be in the grocery store and nobody may have known she was having early labor contractions. In early labor, it was easier to walk and talk through contractions. What Can I Do to Cope Through Active Labor? One of the most simple ways of being present in birth (and in life) is by noticing the breath – not changing it – but simply bringing the awareness to the breath. However, to have the best birth experience no matter what happens, it’s important to “be present” in THIS moment, instead of constantly looking ahead. Birth is sometimes a journey of surrender and letting go.Ĭoping through this kind of journey can be quite frustrating, especially for the typical American that wants a lengthy birth plan and be in control of everything (I do this too!!). ( Often including cervical exams!)īirth is a journey into the unknown. So, therefore, any sort of calculating or future predictions about birth are pointless and a waste of time. We do not simply walk from point a to point b to have a baby. Logically, you might thing that therefore it’ll take you 4 more hours to get to 10 cm aka stage 2 or the pushing stage.īirth math does not exist and birth is not linear. Birth is not linear and birth math does not exist.įor example, say it took you 6 hours to get to 6 centimeters. Usually.Īt this point, we need to interrupt our conversation about active labor to discuss a very important idea. You will spend most of your time getting to 6 cm. Take heart, however, because once you hit 6 cm things typically start to go faster. Just as all women and pregnancies are different, it will take a different amount of time for each woman to arrive at 6 cm, the textbook definition of active labor. Once parents move past active labor, things generally move rather quickly! How Many Centimeters Is Active Labor? Everybody is different!Īctive labor is typically longer than all the other parts of labor combined – early, transition, pushing, placenta, etc. On average, a first time mom’s labor is around 15-17 hours, however, many women experience labors longer or shorter than that, while still being in the range of normal. (Active labor is defined by contractions that have caused the cervix to at least dilate to 6 cm.)
are timeable and predictable, whereas in early labor maybe they were every 5, then 7, then 4, then 10 minutes apart.In early labor maybe they were more like 5-7 (or greater) minutes apart have an average length of around 60 seconds.get longer, stronger and closer together.Active labor comes after early labor but before transition. Just like early labor and transition, active labor is part of the first stage of labor. If you’re wanting to know how labor generally unfolds, you’ll definitely want to check it out.
#Contractions timing app how to
These questions and much more are discussed in this blog post, which is one of a three part series called The Stages of Labor: How To and Helpful Tips. What can I do to cope through active labor? What are some signs that labor is nearing? Many parents have a lot of questions about active labor. Active labor happens when contractions become longer, stronger, and closer together and, if they haven’t already, when parents begin to make their way to the hospital. Active labor is part of the first stage of labor, and where parents spend the bulk of their time in the birthing process.
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