27 Mar 09 SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, REPRODUCTION: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A BABY IS BORN?

When a baby is ready to be born, the mother goes into what we call ‘labour’. During labour the muscles of the mother’s uterus begin to contract rhythmically and the mother feels a cramping sensation. At first the contractions aren’t very strong and come only once in a while. As labour continues, the contractions become stronger and stronger and come more often. At some point during labour or childbirth the amniotic sac, the bag of fluids inside which the baby grows, breaks open and the woman feels a gushing or leaking of fluid from her vagina. This is often called the ‘breaking of the waters’. If the amniotic sac doesn’t break on its own, the doctor will break it.

During labour the cervix, the lower parts of the uterus, begins to dilate (open up). When the cervix is fully dilated and the contractions are strong and regular, the force of the contractions begins to push the baby out of the uterus, through the cervix, through the vagina and out through the vaginal opening. Most babies are born head first, but some babies come out feet first or with some other part of the body coming first.

The average length of time for labour with a woman’s first baby is about twelve to fourteen hours, and about seven hours with her subsequent pregnancies. However, some women have shorter or longer labours than this. Doctors usually tell women to come to hospital when the contractions are coming regularly, every five minutes. Once the contractions are coming this regularly, it will usually be at least several more hours before the baby is born, but some women have very short labours and occasionally you will hear of a baby being born in a car on the way to the hospital. Sometimes, a woman will have some contractions in the week or so before the baby is born, but this is pre-labour and isn’t considered real labour.

For some women labour and childbirth are very painful; for others there is little or no pain. For most women there is some discomfort, for the contractions have to be very strong in order to push the baby out. Some women practise certain exercises during pregnancy and use breathing techniques during labour that help control the pain. If the pain is too intense, the woman may choose to have an anaesthetic that numbs her from the waist down so she doesn’t feel the pain.

Once labour has progressed to the point where the cervix is fully dilated (opened to about 100 mm or 4 in), the ‘pushing stage’ begins. During this stage the mother, if she hasn’t been anaesthetized, can help to bring the baby out by pushing along with the contractions. Even if she can’t help push, the contractions alone are usually enough to push the baby out into the world. This pushing stage usually lasts for one to three hours with a first pregnancy and for about half an hour with subsequent pregnancies, but it may be shorter or longer than this.

During the pushing stage, the baby begins to move out of the uterus and through the cervix into the vagina. When the entire top of the baby’s head is visible at the vaginal opening, it usually takes only a few more contractions to push the baby entirely out into the world.

When a baby is born, it has a cord, known as the umbilical cord, attached to its tummy. The other end of this cord is attached to the placenta. The placenta is a special organ that develops inside the uterus during pregnancy to bring blood and nourishment from the mother to the baby. The placenta usually comes out within a half-hour after the baby. The doctor then cuts the cord and disposes of it and the placenta. The cord is cut within a short distance of the baby’s tummy and is clamped or tied. By the time the baby is a couple of weeks old, the cord above the clamp or knot will have dried up and fallen off by itself.

After the birth, the doctor or nurse checks the baby and may clean it up a bit before giving it to its mother to hold. The boys and girls in our classes get a big kick out of hearing about their own births. You might ask your mother to tell you about her labour with you.

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