Active Labor Progress
Eventually, the contractions that you have been experiencing will become stronger and more intense. You will also find that as time progresses the contractions are getting closer together and lasting longer. When this happens, you will have moved into active labor.
For most women, active labor is the longest part of their labor. During this time, your body is opening the cervix so the baby can move into the birth canal (vagina). At this point your body is also preparing for your baby to be born by stretching the pelvis, preparing the colostrum and stimulating the baby's nervous and respiratory systems.
You will find that as active labor progresses, you will become more serious or "focused" during your contractions. You may find yourself slowly moving from not talking during the peak of a contraction - to not talking during a contraction - to barely talking even between contractions. You may also find that your movements become slower and more deliberate as you progress through active labor. Eventually you may even be at the point that moving between contractions is uncomfortable and difficult to manage.
These are normal physical reactions to labor. As your body works harder to contract the uterus, you will naturally spend less energy on "non-labor" activities such as moving and talking. You will also find that your hunger naturally disappears so your body will not waste energy trying to digest food. For most women, the increased focus it takes to labor also prevents them from being concerned with societal norms leading to a decrease in modesty and the pleasantries of conversation.
During active labor, mothers find that changing their activity and position as desired helps them to remain comfortable. This may be due to two factors. First, it prevents over stressing one or two muscle groups by varying the way you hold your body. Secondly, it allows you to respond to changes in the way your body feels, which may be caused by the movement of the baby through the pelvis.
Although the desire for food disappears during labor, it is important to stay well hydrated. Dehydration will decrease the amount of work your muscles are able to do with each contraction, and it will decrease your ability to handle the stress and contractions.
During active labor, some women find that making noise, called vocalization, with contractions helps to keep them relaxed during the contractions. Many women also find that tuning out the world around them, sometimes called "going inside yourself," helps them to stay relaxed and handle contractions more effectively.
Most women will develop some form of pattern or ritual during active labor. This means that she will repeat the same responses to contractions for several contractions in a row. An example of a ritual may be walking in a circle between contractions; as the contraction begins she takes a deep breath and begins to moan; she leans over on her support person until the contraction is done; then she walks in a circle again until the next contraction begins. There appears to be some comfort afforded a woman by repeating what worked from the previous contraction.
As you see these behaviors build (vocalization, tuning out and using rituals), you will know that labor is progressing. By keeping track of the behaviors the physical signs (loss of hunger, loss of modesty and deliberate movement), and the emotional signs (focusing, decreasing talkativeness, decreasing humor) you can get a pretty good estimate of "how far" into labor the mother is.
It is important to note though, that not every mother will respond in the same way or with the same behaviors and signs. Some mothers do continue to talk throughout labor, some mothers do not make noise, some mothers focus on contractions very early in labor. As you use these markers of progress you must look at the total picture of the laboring mother, not simply one marker or behavior.
What would you like next?Learn comfort techniques for labor. Find out how what you eat can impact how you give birth. Learn ways to stay comfortable during pregnancy. Read sample birth plans. Get emotionally prepared to give birth. |
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