Labour & childbirth

CHILDBIRTH represents the ultimate, positive result of the pregnancy process. The baby leaves its (natural) incubator, coming out into the real world to lead an independent life. at the same time, causing the baby to descend in the passage towards the exterior.

Normal pregnancy term: usually 37 weeks to 40 weeks.

For overdue/post term cases, labour is induced and the baby is delivered before 42 weeks.

Childbirth ensues through the vagina in a normal delivery, which is the preferred choice.

Otherwise through the abdomen via a (surgical) Caesarean section (C-section). is pursued when there are contraindications to a normal delivery such as:

abnormalities and presentations; placenta previa; multiple pregnancies; pre-eclampsia; and

when a baby is too big, reflecting disproportion between the size of the baby and the pelvis.

Emergency C-sections are pursued when a normal delivery proves unsuccessful. In cases of failure of the labour process to progress and when foetal distress necessitates immediate delivery of the baby. Caesarean sections have evolved significantly since the time when crude surgery was executed to save the life of a baby from an obstructed labour in a dying mother.

Classical C-section of the past are rarely done nowadays, except in dire emergencies.

Today it a sophisticated, safe and commonly performed procedure.

A variation in technique postulated the term LSCS (Lower Segment Caesarean Section).

The labour for childbirth involves quite a number of hours. There are in fact three stages of labour. has a latent phase and an active phase.

• The latent phase is from the start of pains until the cervix is fully effaced (thinned out) and dilated to 3cm. This phase can take from a few hours to a few days.

• The active phase lasts between 6 to 12 hours from the cervical dilatation of 3cm reaching 10cm.

• The contractions are typically intermittent, lasting less than a minute and the intervals get closer from 10 to 15 minutes apart to about just 2 or 3 minutes apart.

• Contractions also gradually gets stronger in the active phase of labour. It however, remains intermittent throughout the labour.

• This is an important point, for during the relaxation period, the mother’s blood is able to supply the baby with

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