Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin

Author:Ina May Gaskin [Gaskin, Ina May]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Book Publishing Company - A
Published: 2002-02-28T23:00:00+00:00

What Happens During Labor?

During labor your uterine muscles contract at intervals and finally push out the baby. While this is happening, your cervix is thinning and opening. We call these regular bursts of energy “rushes.” Labor progresses best if you pay attention to the expansion rather than to the contraction.

The first stage of labor begins when the rushes come at regular intervals and start getting stronger. In the beginning they may feel something like menstrual cramps, but with more energy. The mucus plug in the cervix that has sealed off the uterus during pregnancy comes out.

This blood and mucus is called the “bloody show.” The rushes get longer and stronger as the cervix gets more dilated. The first stage of labor lasts until the cervix is fully dilated to approximately ten centimeters, a large enough opening for a full-term baby’s head to pass through. This usually takes from twelve to fifteen hours for a first baby (although I have known women who had twenty-minute to half-hour labors for their first babies) and less than that with later babies. However, this varies widely for different women and different situations.

When your cervix is nearly open, you are most apt to feel emotional, to feel that it is impossible to give birth, that you might rip in half or explode or that all your insides might come out if you allow your baby to move down the birth canal. This is a very scary feeling, and most women, when they are under the spell of this particular fear, are convinced that their bodies will be done great damage if they relax. It’s important to remember that your brain can be quite unreliable at this stage of labor. It is usually an amazing help to have someone remind you that you won’t explode or tear in half at this point, but that person has to know what she’s talking about and has to be convincing. The intense feeling usually passes when the second stage starts and a more active part of your work begins.

The second stage lasts from the time of full dilation until the baby is born. This may take from a few minutes to two or three hours. The combination of the uterus contracting and you pushing with your abdominal muscles gets the baby through your pelvic bones, down the birth canal, and out. The baby’s head bones slide over each other a little, making the head temporarily smaller during its passage through the pelvic outlet. The urge to push is usually involuntary and powerful, but you have a tremendous amount of control during this time too. On The Farm, the midwife serves as a guide to the woman on how to hold herself and how to breathe and whatever else may be relevant in order for her to get the most accomplished with her pushes and how to give birth slowly to avoid tearing.

The baby is crowning when the head starts to emerge. It will usually come out facing downward and will spontaneously turn ninety degrees; then the body will be pushed out.

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