Human Growth and Development / Unit 2 HGD 0207 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Three Stages of Labour
The idea
Vaginal birth runs through three stages. The first, dilation, is the longest: contractions strengthen and come closer together until the cervix has opened to about ten centimetres, often taking twelve to sixteen hours with a first child. The second is the birth itself: the mother pushes, the head crowns, and the baby passes through the birth canal, usually in under an hour. The third is the delivery of the placenta, usually within half an hour.
In practice
One labour on a clock: many hours to open the cervix, under an hour to deliver the baby, minutes to finish.
Where people slip
Sources name the stages differently. Some call the second stage active labour, while others use active labour for the later, stronger part of the first stage. Name each stage by what happens in it: opening, birth, and placenta. A fetus that has not turned head-down late in pregnancy may present in a breech position, which can lead to a cesarean.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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