The Three Stages of Labour
How will I know when I'm in labour? It’s the burning question on all birthing people’s lips. Of course it is, it’s the day that you’ll finally meet your baby, the day you’ve been preparing for, so let's look at what to expect, when to expect it and what you can do to make the most of it.
The latent phase
The first stage
The second stage
The third stage
The 3 stages of labour
Labour happens in three stages so we can look at how to prepare and what to expect for each of these. Frustratingly, labour is not a ‘one size fits all’ gig but you will experience it in these stages and it’s good to be prepared! You might have heard different names for these but we’re going to refer to them as the latent phase (sometimes called early labour), the first stage (sometimes called active labour) and the second stage of labour. Knowing the signs of each stage is important as it’ll give you an idea of where your labour is at and will also give you and your birth partner things to watch out for when thinking about making that call to your chosen birth place.
The latent phase
What is it and what is my body doing?
It’s starting! It’s time to get excited- you’ll soon be meeting your baby. This is the very start of your journey. You might notice a feeling that feels a bit different to all of the others you’ve been experiencing towards the end of your pregnancy. You might feel tightenings, a bit like period pains, in your lower tummy or you might feel pressure pains in your lower back. It really is different for all! Keep an eye on them and be aware of them, a sure sign that these are surges (contractions) is the regularity. If labour has started these will build in frequency, length and intensity. It’s really helpful to imagine what’s happening during this stage, your cervix will have moved forward to line up with your vagina and the muscles in your uterus are starting to do their thing. These muscles are incredibly strong, they’ve been keeping your baby safe for a long time. They’re now pulling up and drawing round to start your cervix off on its dilation journey.
How will I know that I'm in the latent phase of labour?
The big thing to watch out for here is the pattern of your surges. At first there might not really be one, your surges may even come and go and that’s fine. This stage of labour could last a few days, it could last a few hours. It really is different for everyone. Trust your instincts, you know your body and you’ll recognise this feeling as something different. Once you’ve established that they are here to stay and are not stopping, like Braxton Hicks, fire up your Freya app and keep an eye on them. You might begin to notice a pattern building. Ask your birth partner to help you too, you could even put them in charge of the counting.
What should I do during latent labour?
Be excited, do not worry, you want to welcome those surges to get to the next stage. When you feel a surge, practice your up breathing, it’s definitely not too soon to be using this tool and practicing during your latent labour will make you a pro! Remember to keep calm, you don’t want adrenalin making an appearance and squashing that lovely oxytocin. Here are some ideas of things you might like to do, remember the key is keeping nice and calm to really encourage the flow of oxytocin, it's this incredible hormone that is going to fuel your surges, making each one efficient and effective so having it in abundance is super important.
● Sit on your birth ball and stick your favourite comedy on, laughing is great! ● Get your birth partner to create ‘date night vibes’ and snuggle down to your favourite film.
● Try to eat, you might not fancy it but keep that energy up. Labour is a work out and those muscles need fuel.
● While we’re on that, DRINK, make sure you’re hydrated. We don't want those muscles cramping up. Eeeek.
● Set the scene for your safe labouring environment, think about all of those senses and how to keep them all happy. Remember, you need to feel safe and comfortable.
● Take a nice relaxing bath and listen to a guided relaxation.
● You might want to take a little walk with your partner, hold hands and keep the love flowing.
● Use your Freya app to start timing your surges.
● Try to rest or even sleep, if you can, conserve that energy.
Changing your mindset to welcoming your surges is a great idea, remember, you're aiming for that goal of 3 surges in 10 minutes, each lasting for 45 seconds to a minute. This is when the nhs considers you to be in the first stage of labour and will admit you into your chosen birth place. That’s definitely a feeling to delight in, you want your labour to move on to the next stage and keeping yourself calm and using your up breathing will help your labour progress.
The first stage of labour
What is it and what is my body doing?
You’ve done it, you’re now at the first stage of labour or ‘active labour’ All of that work during the latent phase has enabled your cervix to dilate to 4cm. Now things may start to ramp up, you will probably notice that your surges are now becoming much more regular, they will have probably built in duration and intensity too. It’s time to make that call, ask your partner to call the Maternity Triage line and speak to a midwife.
How will I know that I’ve reached the first stage of labour
The Freya app is super helpful here and will give you the heads up on when to call the Maternity Triage line. Listen to your instincts too, remember you know your body and your instincts are strong, trust in them.
What should I do during the First Stage of Labour?
Keep using your up breathing and remember that labour is designed with rest periods. If your surge feels intense, use your up breathing and find comfort in the fact that once the surge has washed over, you will be rewarded with a rest. Time to gather yourself, gain comfort from your partner and get ready to welcome the next surge feeling calm. Remember to breathe, this is your biggest job, you can do anything for a minute. If you’re finding the surges to be very intense you might want to try a Tens Machine or this would be a great time to practice your gentle touch massage, gently stimulating those nerve endings on your back- a great source for releasing endorphins- a helpful ally in labour! It’s now time to transfer to your chosen place of birth, here are some things to consider:
● Leaving your safe environment at home will most likely make you feel vulnerable, opening your labour to threat. Try to keep yourself feeling comfortable, use your sense to trick your body into feeling safe. Spritz your favourite perfume, wear something comfy, grab an eye mask to block out your vision, listen to a relaxation and have your partner comfort you.
● If you can, get a cab. If your partner is driving, they’re not being your birth partner.
● Once you arrive, let your partner talk for you. Your job is still to breathe.
Once you are in your room, whether that be on the labour ward or birthing centre, make sure you feel comfortable and make sure that the environment feels safe, can you dim the lights? Are there too many people in the room? Now it’s time to think about comfort measures, you might want to try Gas & Air, which can work really well with up breathing. The great thing about Gas & Air? If you don’t like it, you can just stop inhaling. Some people love it but others can find it makes them feel woozy, worth a try though! If you have access to a pool you might want to think about asking to have it filled, being in the water can provide huge comfort during labour. Be mindful of your surroundings, just because there’s a bed in the room, don’t feel like you have to lay down. Gravity is your friend and you should try to remain in an Upright, Forward facing and Open (UFO) position. These positions will really help you in helping your baby’s journey down to you. Your waters might break during this stage too but really, they could go at any time! It’s less likely that they’ll break at the very start of labour as the films would have you believe - thanks Charlotte Yorke, Sex and The City!
As this stage of labour progresses you’ll start to notice a change in sensation, an overwhelming feeling of pushing down. This is a sign that your body is moving to the second stage of labour. Those uterine muscles have all pulled up and they’re ready to push your baby down. This is called the Transition stage as your body moves from the up stage to the pushing stage. At the point of transition, Mother Nature delivers a hit of adrenaline, how odd? You may think. Of course, there’s a point to this, it’s our body’s way of assessing our surroundings, ‘is this a safe space for my baby to be born?’ It may fill you with a strange feeling of doubt that ‘I can’t do this’ feeling. It will pass, let that adrenaline leave your body and get ready to help bring your baby down to you. You’ve almost done it.
The Second Stage of Labour
What is it and what is my body doing?
You’ve done it, your cervix is now fully dilated and it’s time to fire up that down breathing! Those brilliant muscles have now pulled up and around and are poised, ready to bring your baby down to you. With each surge in this stage of labour, your baby’s head is journeying further down the birth canal, towards the entrance of your vagina until their head makes a welcome appearance. The most amazing news is that this stage ends with your baby in your arms!
How will I know that I’ve reached the Second Stage of labour?
You know that feeling of needing to poo? Well, it’s a bit like that! You will know that you’ve hit this stage. You may even feel an urge to push. Listen to your body, trust your body and listen to your midwife.
What should I do during The Second Stage of Labour?
This is when you can whip out your down breathing, think about really sending that breath down with force. This engages your muscles and helps with your baby’s journey down. Listen to your midwife too, and if your body feels like it’s pushing then go with it. Remember also to keep that pelvic floor nice and relaxed, remember we need it to be open!
You might still want to move around to find a comfortable position, what works for one person might not feel great for another so keep moving and try to listen to what your body is telling you, don’t be afraid to do this. As with all stages of labour, this stage is different for everyone. As a rough guide, the NHS suggests that it should be no longer than 3 hours for a first baby and around 2 for subsequent births. Go with your body and feel so proud of yourself because once you’re here you know that your baby is so close.
The Third Stage of Labour
I know, I know, I said that there were only three stages and I’ve sneaked this one in, but this is important too so let's talk about that final stage, what to expect once your baby is in your arms.
What is it and what is my body doing?
You’re on a high, you’ve got so much oxytocin floating around and your baby is on your chest. Wow, you did it! But, there’s one important part of the process to go. It’s now time to birth your placenta! Not only did your body build a baby, it also created a whole new organ to nurture that baby but now it’s done its job, now it must go. About an hour after you’ve given birth you’ll start to experience minor surges again, nothing like in labour, these are working to deliver your placenta.
What should I do during The Third Stage of Labour?
Your job here is to relax and enjoy that glorious skin to skin contact with your baby. Your body will be doing its thing and in a few mini surges’ time, with the help of your midwife, your placenta will appear. It’s worth taking a look because that organ has been looking after your baby, it's incredible! That baton has now been passed to you. Keep trusting those instincts because you’ve got this.
