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Category: Labour & Delivery

Asked by Maybebaby

Q: Labour and birth process

Hi all I'm a first time mother and have no idea wat to expect from the labour and birthing processes, wat do they normally do when u go into labour?( what pain relief is available, and wat tests do they perform whilst in labour, also what inducing medications do they use and what are there affect) and after bub is born wats the typical process?(what happens to bub after she directly enters the world, wat test or needles do they do?) I was hoping to start my birthing plan so all advice is welcome!

This question was asked Jan. 5, 2013 4:38pm
Category: Labour & Delivery

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Answered by Maybebaby - Jan. 6, 2013 4:07am
Hi, all the answers were very helpful, I didn't take offence to any of it. :-) if anything it is more helpful to see the normal side of it so I can pick and choose wat parts I need to keep and wat parts arnt important to me, the town I live in doesn't offer birthing classes and its a 2 hour drive to the next town.the diagnosis hasn't changed, I just wanted to get something together to show this stupid doctor I no wat I want, so he ant keep pushing me around.. Thank you

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Answered by looney - Jan. 5, 2013 8:40pm
Crap, I just realized your the one with the baby girl with tri18. im so so sorry! ignore most of what i said for the newborn stage. If I were in your shoes, I'd tell them not to do the eye gel, and not to do the hep b shot, since time will perhaps be of the essence. You did say she was going to be incompatible with life? Has this diagnoses changed?


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Answered by looney - Jan. 5, 2013 8:00pm
And lastly, if you are like me, my water always breaks BEFORE labor. LOL. Only 25% of women experience this. Both times, mine has popped in the middle of night in bed. Put a plastic covering over your mattress after 36 weeks. I have heard stories of mothers RUINING their mattresses because of how much liquid comes out, that it goes deep into the mattress and never dries and starts mildewing and rotting.

Hopefully within 24 hours of your water breaking you will start laboring. If not, they will want to induce you using pitocin, sooner if you tested positive for GBS at 36weeks.

Water popping feels like a big rush. Or it can be very very little trickle that feels like you are peeing a little every 30-40 min. If in doubt the maternity hospital can check it to see if its pee or amniotic fluid. Dont rush to the hospital if your water has broken, wait for the contractions to start and become consistent. Just put on a pad, and TRY to rest, you will need to rest for what's ahead. haha

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Answered by looney - Jan. 5, 2013 7:54pm
If you labor like the majority of women, you will have labor start BEFORE your water breaks. I can't describe the feeling to you, but I loved it... honestly... Most women hate it, but that has a lot to do with the fear/pain women associate with birth.

Your contractions will start out kind of random, and as time goes on, they will get stronger and closer together. Labor isnt considered "active" or "real" labor until you are having them every 4 minutes for a minute each. Around 8-10 cm dialated, you will be in a lot of pain, and it's the worst part of labor. Once you get past that, you will be happier and you will start to push, which feels much much better then the contractions. Some time between labor starting, and pushing, your water will break, and you will loose gobs and gobs of thick blood tinged mucus. Totally normal :)

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Answered by looney - Jan. 5, 2013 7:49pm
*very life threatening disorders... NOT every.

Inducing medications are mostly Pitocin, and they will only use this if your water breaks 24 hours prior or more, if you are over-due, or if during your labor, your labor stalls. It can make the contractions come fast and hard, which i hear hurts like a sun of a gun. I was on pitocin for only 2 hours to jump start my labor with my first, and i didnt feel like it hurt any worse then this labor i had recently without the pitocin. They also have a cervidil thing they put on your cervx to soften it, but i believe they are using that less now, because they are finding mothers hemorrhage during birth more frequently because of it.

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Answered by looney - Jan. 5, 2013 7:40pm
Babies only need colostrum in the first week of life, so if your milk doesnt come in right away dont worry!!! baby is fine. if you decide to formula feed, know that your baby will be gassier, poopier, stinkier, and will vomit and have tummy pains more then a breast fed baby. their poop is exponentially stinkier, thicker and just... grosser. your period will also come back right away if you use formula.

During the first weeks post partum, u need to keep an eye on any abdominal pain or fever, those can be signs of a life threatening infection in your uterus.

once baby is born they will put gel in his eyes to prevent him from getting an infection from ur birth canal. this is really only important if the mother may have chlamydia or gonorreha.

they will also give him a vit k shot and hep b shot. vit k is to prevent hemorrhaging and to help the babies blood clot. they will give baby a hearing test and also a heel prick blood test to test for every life threatening disorders.

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Answered by looney - Jan. 5, 2013 7:32pm
During your bonding time, the doctors will inspect your vagina and the placenta to ensure the entire placenta came out, and to stitch or repair any issues with your vagina/ cervix/ labia/ anus. If you had an epidural you will most likely not feel this. If you dont, they will give you a topical numbing agent so you dont feel their repairs.

Pushing feels much better then contractions do, and often mothers are in relief once the contractions turn to the urge to push.

You will be scared to poop and pee for a few days. And peeing will burn, even without any tearing... i hear tearing hurts like a BEEEOTCH when u pee though. They will give you a nice squirt bottle u will fill with warm water that you spray on your lady bits WHILE you pee. It feels much better. You will also bleed for about 4-6 weeks and will need ginormous pads to soak up the "lochia".

Baby will poo meconium for 2-4 days. Your milk wont come in for 4 days or so and that is normal.

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Answered by looney - Jan. 5, 2013 7:26pm
. If the baby is stable, you must tell them you want to wait at least 10 minutes to cut the cord. Doctors are stuck in their old ways, but very damning studies have proven the benefits of your baby to delay the cord cutting. The baby deserves the blood in the placenta and is meant to have it. Babies whose cords are cut prematurally (under 10 minutes) loose out on all the iron stores they were meant to have and often suffer iron deficiency for the first YEARS of life. If baby is not stable, they will and should for good reason cut the cord immediately.

During this time you should be bonding with the baby, whether the cord is cut or not. Skin to skin is preferable. But often nurses will clean the baby and wrap it in a blanket for you. This is a great time to offer the nipple if you plan on nursing. Your baby will be very alert and awake from it's adventure into the world. Within an hour or two the baby will fall fast asleep for a few hours.

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Answered by looney - Jan. 5, 2013 7:21pm
At 6 cm they'll let you have an epidural. You really dont need one, but if you want one they'll give it to you. Your chances of tearing will increase substantially however, which will make post- birth healing a little longer and painful.

The contractions, are literally your cervix opening for the baby to come out. You need to accept that, and not fight it. If you tense up, your body cannot do its job. Try and relax your jaw and practice relaxing your lower abdomen muscles.

They will not allow you to eat or drink during labor, due to old outdated science about emergency c-sections.

When they baby comes out, they will want to get it breathing / crying right away. If it doenst, they may abscond with baby until they get him/her stable.

If baby comes out crying and breathing, you can ask for immediate skin to skin. You can ask that baby be cleaned first, or still gooey, that is your choice. I believe babies need to go directly to mother, not cleaned for at least an hour.

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Answered by looney - Jan. 5, 2013 7:15pm
Since you absolutely have no idea about that is going to happen, you might want to sign up for a birthing class. There is just too much for us to tell you.... But I will give it a shot!

If your water breaks before labor starts, they will generally only give you 24 hours to start labor before they use Pitocin to start your labor for you. This is to prevent infections from spreading to your baby.

If you test positive for GBS at 36 weeks, you will need to be hooked up to an IV for antibiotics during your labor.

They want you to come in when your contractions are every 4 minutes, lasting a minute each. You can get an APP for your phone to track it, it's much easier then writing it down, like we use to have to do in the olden days.

Tests during labor? As far as that, they usually monitor the babies heart rate, either continuously (annoying!) or sporadically. They may take a blood/urine sample to be tested for drugs etc. They will monitor your blood pressure.



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