Birth stages and childbirth methods and strategies

Birth Stages

In the first stage, uterine contractions are 15 to 20 minutes apart at the beginning and last up to a minute. These contractions cause the woman's cervix which is the opening into the birth canal to stretch and open. As the first stage progresses, the contractions come closer together, appearing every two to five minutes. Their intensity increases too and by the end of the first birth stage, contractions dilate the cervix to an opening of abour 4 inches, so that the baby can move from the uterus to the birth canal. For a woman having her first child, the first stage lasts an average of 12 to 24 hours and it is the longest of the three stages. And for later births, the first stage lasts an average of 8 hours.

The second birth stage begins when the baby's head starts to move through the cervix and the birth canal. In this stage, it terminates when the baby completely emerges from the mother's body. For a first birth, this stage lasts approximately 90 minutes, and for later births the second stage averages 45 minutes in length. With each contraction, the mother bears down hard to push the baby out of her body. By the time the baby's head is out of the mother's body, the contractions come almost every minute and last for about a minute.

Afterbirth is the third stage at which time the placenta, umbilical cord, and other membranes are detached and expelled. This final stage is the shortest of the three birth stages, lasting only minutes.

Birth Strategies

Natural childbirth is the method that aims to reduce the mother's pain by decreasing her fear through education about childbirth and by teaching her to use breathing methods and relaxation techniques during delivery. This approach was developed in 1914 by English obstetrician Grantley Dick-Read. French obstetrician Ferdinand Larnaze developed a method similar to natural childbirth that is known as prepared childbirth, or the Lamaze method. It includes a special breathing technique to control pushing in the final stages of labor, as well as more detailed education about anatomy and physiology than Dick- Read's approach provides. The pregnant woman's partner usually serves as a coach, who attends childbirth classes with her and helps her with her breathing and relaxalion during delivery.

Another form of birth strategy is the waterbirth method which involves giving birth in a tub of warm water. In this method, some women go through labor in the water and get out for delivery while others remain in the water for delivery. The rationale for waterbirth is that the baby has been in an amniotic sac for many months and that delivery in a similar environment is likely to be less stressful for the baby and the mother. Mothers get into the warm water when contractions become closer together and more intense. Getting into the water too soon can cause labor to slow or stop. Massage is increasingly used as a procedure prior to and during delivery and researchers have found that massage can reduce pain and anxiety during labor.

Acupuncture, the insertion of very fine needles into specific locations in the body, is used as a standard procedure to reduce the pain of childbirth in China, although it only recently has begun to be used in the United States for this purpose. Hypnosis, the induction of a psychological state of altered attention and awareness in which the individual is unusually responsively to suggestions, is also increasingly being used during childbirth. Music therapy during childbirth, which involves the use of music to reduce stress and manage pain, is increasingly being used.

In a cesarean delivery, the baby is removed from the mother's uterus through an incision made in her abdomen. Cesarean deliveries are safer than breech deliveries. Cesarean deliveries also are performed if the baby is lying crosswise in the uterus, if the baby's head is too large to pass through the mother's pelvis, if the baby develops complications, or if the mother is bleeding vaginally.

Fetus to Infant Transition

During each conraction, when the placenta and umbilical cord are compressed as the uterine muscles draw together, the supply of oxygen to the fetus is decreased. If the delivery takes too long, the baby can develop anoxia, a condition in which the fetus or newborn has an insufficient supply of oxygen which can cause brain damage and the baby has considerable capacity to withstand the stress of birth. Large quantities of adrenaline and noradrenaline, hormones that protect the fetus in the event of oxygen deficiency, are secreted in stressful circumstances. These hormones increase the heart's pumping activity, speed up heart rate, channel blood flow to the brain, and raise the blood-sugar level. Never again in life will such large amounts of these honnones be secreted. This circumstance underscores how stressful it is to be born and also how well prepared and adapted the fetus is for birth.

At the time of birth, the baby is covered with what is called vernix caseosa, a protective skin grease. This vernix consists of fatty secretions and dead cells, thought to help proteel the baby's skin against heat loss before and during birth. Immediately after birth, thc umbilical card is cut. Before birth, oxygen came from the mother via the umbilical cord, but now the baby is self-sufficient and can breathe on its own. Now 25 million little air sacs in the lungs must be filled with air. These first breaths may be the hardest ones an individual takes.

Preterm Born / Low Birth Weight Children

Children who were born low in birth weight are more likely than their normal birth weight counterparts to have a learning disability, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, or breathing problems such as asthma. Approximately 50% of all low birth weight children are enrolled in special education programs. Not all of these adverse consequences can be attributed solely to being born low in birth weight. Some of the less severe but more common developmental and physical delays occur because many low birth weight children come from disadvantaged environments.

Bonding special component of the parent-infant relationship is bonding, the formation of a connection, especially a physical bond between parents and the newborn in the period shortly after birth. Sometimes hospitals seem determined to deter bonding. Drugs given to the mother to make her delivery less painful can make the mothet drowsy, interfering with her ability to respond to and stimulate the newborn. Mothers and newborns are often separated shortly after delivery, and preterm infants are isolated from their mothers even more than full-term mothers. Some physicians stress that during the period shortly after birth, the parents and newborn need to form an emotional attachment as a foundation for optimal development in years to come.

The extreme form of the bonding hypothesis-that the newborn must have close contact with the mother in the first few days of life to develop optimally-simply is not true. Nonetheless, the weakness of the bonding hypothesis should not be used as an excuse to keep motivated mothers from interacting with their newborns. Such contact brings pleasure to many mothers and in some mother-infant pairs-including pretem infants, adolescent mothers, and mothers from disadvantaged circumstances-early close contact may establish a climate for improved interaction after the mother and infant leave the hospital.

Reflection

Birt is the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother of a fetus, irrespective of whether the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached. If I am a female, I will prefer giving birth by natural childbirth for the reason that giving birth the natural way will only require a relatively short time of recovery compared to the cesarean method of delivery. Also for me, it will be much more fulfilling as a mother to give birth that way since I will feel all the pains and go all through the natural experiences of giving birth. In terms of my partner's involvement in my pregnancy and childbirth, I would like him to be around during the duration of my pregnancy. For instance, when I'm doing my visits to my obstetrician so that he can understand the condition I'm going through. During childbirth, I would like my partner to be at my side to give me that emotional strength and moral support. Moreover, knowing he is by my side will not give me a sense of feeling alone in this final stage of my pregnancy.