Am I ready to give birth?

What do you need to prepare for the maternity hospital?

To avoid getting ready in a hurry when you start having contractions, try to gather everything you need in advance. First, this is underwear - a shirt, robe, slippers. Second, hygiene items - soap, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrush, towel, diapers, pads. Take bed linen with you - a sheet, duvet cover, pillowcase. You need to take this not only because there may not be any linen in the maternity hospital, but also because your bed linen will replace (partially) your home walls. Do not forget the exchange card, which should contain all the tests and specialist records, and your passport.

Due to the fact that funding for medicine is currently at a low level, familiarize yourself in advance with the list of medications that are required for childbirth in the maternity hospital, and buy everything in advance so that your loved ones do not run around looking for what they need.

When a woman is admitted to the maternity hospital, her pubic area and perineum are shaved. To avoid being "scratched" with an old, dull blade, shave at home yourself and take a razor with you.

So-called family births (the husband's presence is allowed) are very common now, so find out in advance what is needed for this.

Perhaps this is all that needs to be prepared for admission to the maternity hospital.

How do you know if labor has already begun?

1-2 days before the onset of labor, so-called false contractions appear. At this time, the cervix opens, and the mucous plug covering the cervix may come off. But these contractions are not strong, irregular, and short-lived.

After 1-2 days, real contractions appear. At first, they are short and not too strong, then the intervals between them gradually decrease. Often, during the first contractions, bloody mucus begins to be released from the vagina, and the pain radiates to the lower back. At first, regular contractions occur every 10-15 minutes, and before pushing, the intervals decrease to one or two minutes.

Contractions are needed to increase intrauterine pressure. Due to the fact that the pressure in the uterus increases, the amniotic fluid located in it begins to push apart the cervix from the inside.

It is from this moment that you need to get ready for the maternity hospital: call an ambulance or go to the maternity hospital on your own, taking the things you have packed in advance. You need to hurry if your amniotic fluid has started to break!

If contractions begin and stop after some time, you should immediately call an ambulance!

If the baby is in a breech presentation, in a transverse or oblique position, and during pregnancy you experienced swelling in your legs and increased blood pressure, then you need to go to the maternity hospital early, without waiting for labor to begin.

Sometimes it happens that contractions have not yet begun, but the amniotic fluid has already begun to break. In this case, urgent hospitalization in the maternity hospital is necessary. The discharge of water is associated with the rupture of the membranes and the release of the mucous plug from the cervix. Through the formed passage, an infection from the outside can penetrate into the uterine cavity and cause infection of the fetus and the uterus itself. The longer the anhydrous period, the greater the chance of infectious complications. Three conditions are necessary for normal labor:

• a normally developed, full-term fetus in a cephalic presentation;
• the woman's pelvis is of sufficient size;
• uterine contractions of sufficient strength and intensity.

In 96% of cases, the fetus is in the uterus in the cephalic presentation. The fetus's head is the densest and largest part of the fetus and therefore is most suitable for forming the birth canal in the woman's body. Contractions of the uterus move the fetus head first, and it, like a battering ram, pushes apart the tissues of the birth canal, paving the way for the entire body. As you already know, the bones of the skull have not yet grown together, they are connected by connective tissue and move relative to each other. Thus, the bones of the skull are configured (shifted), the skull takes an optimal conical shape, and this facilitates the process of expulsion of the fetus.

The birth canal consists of the pelvic bones, muscles, connective and fatty tissue. To be more precise, this is the uterine cavity, the cervical canal, the vagina and the perineal muscles. An important point is that the pubic symphysis softens by the time of birth, which at the time of birth helps the head to pass through the bone ring without hindrance. In addition, the coccyx is slightly moved back for the same purposes. All this widens the bone canal by 1-1.5 cm.

Uterine contractions (contractions) are not very intense at first and occur every 10-20 minutes. Then they become more frequent and strong and occur every 1-2 minutes. At this time, the anterior amniotic fluid, located between the cervix and the fetus's head, pushes the cervix apart like a wedge.

The period of disclosure. It should be noted that contractions are undoubtedly painful and cause great inconvenience to a woman, but are always within the limits of the woman's tolerance to these pains. For some, they caused severe psychological trauma and memories of them are like a bad dream, and some did not even remember them. But almost all women, after a few days, after the birth of the child, forget all the unpleasant moments, leaving only the happy time of communication with the newborn.

Pushing, unlike contractions, which only prepare the birth canal for the period of expulsion, is characterized by a feeling of pressure on the rectum, caused by the continuous lowering of the presenting part along the vagina. By the end of the period of expulsion, pushing becomes stronger and the woman must actively participate in this process - push and try with all her might to push the fetus out.

As soon as the head “emerges” from under the pubic symphysis, it becomes easier for everyone - both the woman in labor and the medical staff, because the baby’s body will now be born easily and painlessly.

The midwife uses an electric suction device to remove mucus from the baby's mouth and nose as soon as the head emerges from the genital slit. After the entire baby is born, the midwife cuts the umbilical cord and treats it. The baby is handed over to the pediatrician and nurse, who treat it on a changing table equipped with a light and heat source. This ends the expulsion period.

Then comes the afterbirth period - this is the period of birth of the afterbirth (placenta). After the birth of the fetus, uterine contractions continue and gradually separate the placenta, pushing it out along with other membranes. The birth is over.