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Labour And Birth - What to Expect.
Labour & Birth: The Big Day Finally Arrives!
After nine months of pregnancy and a final few weeks of discomfort, no doubt you’ll be counting down the days until you finally give birth. Many women can’t wait to have their baby, or babies as the case may be sometimes, but they fully understand that they have to go through a few hours of labour first! Those that have been through labour once before might no look forward to it, but new mums will positively dread it.
Well, many mums that have been through labour before will reassure you that the pain and fatigue is completely worth it in the end!
You might want to know a little bit about it before you go into labour though, just so you know what to expect if nothing else. You also have a few decisions to make before you actually go into labour.
What To Expect
Labour is no walk in the park and can really take it out of you. However, nobody can tell you what your experience of birth will be like because every delivery is different. Some expectant mothers can be in labour for less than an hour from start to finish but others can be there for a day or so. Although technology has moved on from the days where some women were in labour for upwards of two days, some women are can still expect up to 24 hours worth of contractions.
Very few births will go over that time period because mum will undoubtedly become tired and baby will become distressed. As such, midwives and doctors will often make the decision to perform a caesarean section. If either mother or baby gets into difficulty then there are many ways in which professionals can make sure that there is a happy ending.
There are three main stages of birth, which wee will go into in a little more detail later. However, anything else you may be able to expect will largely depend on what choices you make about the birth beforehand.
Your Decisions
You do have a number of decisions to make before you go into labour. Some may change as the signs of labour begin to appear, but others won’t. Some of the decisions you need to make are below to give you a good idea of how much planning goes into giving birth!
· Where do you want to give birth? – You don’t need to go to hospital to give birth anymore because many women successfully give birth at home every year, but if you do go into hospital, which hospital do you want to give birth at?
· Is there a particular type of birth that you want? – Some mums-to-be choose to have a birthing pool, others choose a particular position (on all fours for example). This can be changed nearer the time but it I worth thinking about in advance.
· Do you want pain relief? – This probably will change if you think you won’t need anything before you go into labour, but think about what kind of medication you’d want because some medication will affect the baby.
· Who do you want with you? – A birthing partner is a fantastic idea because he or she can give you support. It might be your husband or partner, your mother or a good friend, but the support of having someone you know in there can make the experience a little better for you.
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