Prenatal Diagnosis Center. Prenatal Testing Services. Genetic Counseling. Pregnancy Ultrasound. Antenatal Testing. Fetal Echocardiography. Specialized Services. Patient Guide. Preparing for Delivery. First Baby: What to Expect. Carrying Your Baby Full Term. Childbirth Videos. Going Home. Mom Care. Baby Care. Lactation Program. Postpartum Depression.
Reproductive Psychology. Take a Maternity Tour. Childbirth Series 1-Day Intensive. Childbirth Series 2-Day Intensive. Childbirth Refresher. The Elective Cesarean Option. Cesarean Birth. The wage penalty for women who have children is high, so many try to advance in their careers before giving birth. They are more likely than young mothers to be married , and less likely to divorce.
Ellen Scanlon, who lives in San Francisco, became a first-time mother three months ago at age First she went to business school, built a career in finance and started a strategy consulting firm.
She met her future husband when she was 31, but they were in no rush to start a family. But after they married, when she was 36, they struggled with fertility. It took three and a half years of visiting specialists around the country before she became pregnant via in vitro fertilization. It has also given her and her husband, who works in financial services, enough money to have already started a college savings account for their infant son, Lee, and to be able to enroll him in private school and to travel.
Women who have children young tend to live in areas that view family ties as paramount. But parents are less likely to have significant savings or a college degree and career.
Their pregnancies are more likely to be unintended , and three-quarters of first-time mothers under 25 are unmarried. And the cultural norm is to start families young. Sadie Marie Groff, who lives in Missoula, Mont. She had two more boys, Allen and Zayden, with a different man, who is now her husband.
Now 28, she takes care of her children during the day and works three-hour shifts as a health aide at night. But it has been financially difficult. How Long It Lasts : This stage of labor lasts 3 to 6 hours for a first-time mom, and 1 to 3 hours for subsequent labors. If you've taken Pitocin , a drug that induces contractions, this phase may go more quickly, but if you've had an epidural, things can slow down.
Contractions : Contractions are increasingly more intense, last for 45 to 60 seconds, and are 3 to 5 minutes apart. Other Signs: Some women feel discomfort in their back and hips and cramping in their feet and legs; this is the point when many women ask for an epidural. However, even with pain relief, active labor can unhinge some women's tempers.
What to Do : By this point in labor, you have been admitted to the hospital or ensconced at your birthing center. If you have your epidural in place, you may not be able to get out of bed, but it's still a good idea to change position every half hour or so. If you can get out of bed, try walking up and down stairs for a few minutes at a time if hospital policy allows it or marching in place. This is also a good time to use the relaxation techniques you learned in childbirth education class and to enlist your partner for emotional support.
Your hospital may also want to monitor the baby's heartbeat with a stethoscope, a handheld Doppler device, or an electronic monitoring device. Contractions during this phase are usually intense, spaced about one to three minutes apart. Increasing fatigue, shakiness, and nausea are all common in this phase, as your body does the hard work of reaching complete dilation and effacement. You may feel a strong urge to push or bear down, along with pressure in the rectal area and stinging in the vaginal area as the baby's head moves down toward the vaginal opening.
But you should NOT push—wait until your practitioner gives you the go-ahead, which will happen when the cervix is fully dilated. How Long It Lasts : This is the shortest but most intense phase, typically lasting from 10 minutes to 2 hours. You may feel overwhelmed, and it's also normal to feel discouraged, as though labor will never end. What to Do : Imagine you're in a place that makes you feel safe and relaxed—lying on the beach, resting against a tree, or sitting in a rocking chair in your baby's nursery.
Breathe deeply and develop the scene, filling in the details. What do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear? If you're in more pain than you expected, it's usually not too late to ask for pain relief at this point. This helps your baby move down into your pelvis and helps your cervix to dilate.
Breathing exercises, massage and having a warm bath or shower may help ease pain during this early stage of labour. If you go into hospital or your midwifery unit before your labour has become established, they may suggest you go home again for a while. Once labour is established, your midwife will check on you from time to time to see how you're progressing and offer you support, including pain relief if you need it.
Your midwife will offer you regular vaginal examinations to see how your labour is progressing. If you do not want to have these, you do not have to — your midwife can discuss with you why she's offering them. Your cervix needs to open about 10cm for your baby to pass through it. This is what's called being fully dilated. In a 1st labour, the time from the start of established labour to being fully dilated is usually 8 to 12 hours.
It's often quicker around 5 hours , in a 2nd or 3rd pregnancy. Your midwife will monitor you and your baby during labour to make sure you're both coping well. This will include using a small handheld device to listen to your baby's heart every 15 minutes. You'll be free to move around as much as you want.
Your midwife may suggest electronic monitoring if there are any concerns about you or your baby, or if you choose to have an epidural.
Electronic monitoring involves strapping 2 pads to your bump. One pad is used to monitor your contractions and the other is used to monitor your baby's heartbeat. These pads are attached to a monitor that shows your baby's heartbeat and your contractions. Sometimes a clip called a foetal heart monitor can be attached to the baby's head instead.
This can give a more accurate measurement of your baby's heartbeat. You can ask to be monitored electronically even if there are no concerns.
Having electronic monitoring can sometimes restrict how much you can move around. If you have electronic monitoring with pads on your bump because there are concerns about your baby's heartbeat, you can take the monitor off if your baby's heartbeat is shown to be normal. Labour can sometimes be slower than expected. This can happen if your contractions are not coming often enough, are not strong enough, or if your baby is in an awkward position.
If this is the case, your doctor or midwife may talk to you about 2 ways to speed up your labour: breaking your waters or an oxytocin drip. Breaking the membrane that contains the fluid around your baby your waters is often enough to make contractions stronger and more regular.
This is also known as artificial rupture of the membranes ARM. Your midwife or doctor can do this by making a small break in the membrane during a vaginal examination. This may make your contractions feel stronger and more painful, so your midwife will talk to you about pain relief.
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