Hello everyone, Dr. Boyd here. Welcome back to parently. Welcome to labor. Now the process of labor is exactly what the name entails. It is a labor process. It is hard work.

But to get through it successfully information and knowledge for you is the most important. labor for most women is a real head game. They are so anxious about am I going to be able to get through this process, either naturally without any medication? Am I going to get through it with medication, whether it's through an IV or with oral pain pills? Am I going to get through it with an epidural? What happens if I don't get through it?

Am I going to have to have some serious section? Those are all concerns that women have during the labor process. Some of the more information that you know and understanding more of this will help you As you progress through this very difficult period for many women, now, labor is divided into three stages. The first stage of labor is defined as both early labor and active labor. This is when your cervix starts to dilate, and progressively dilates all the way to 10 centimeters or fully dilated or complete. So the first stage of labor is when you have active contractions, they're regular, they're painful, and they're changing your cervix.

And your cervix dilates progressively and fully opens up to 10 centimeter fully dilated level. At that point, stage one of labor is over. Now, the length of time that this progresses is dependent on many, many factors. But if you're an active labor, and it's your first baby, plan on anywhere from 12 to 18 hours For this first stage of labor to occur, if you have an epidural, it slows labor down. It does not increase your risk for certain section, but it makes labor longer. So the second stage of labor starts after you're fully dilated.

This is the pushing phase. This is when you're planning on pushing the baby out through your birth canal with a successful batch on delivery. Now, this is called the second stage of labor. If this is your first time baby, it typically takes on average, two to three hours. If you have an epidural, it takes a little bit longer. It could even take three to four hours.

If this is your second or third or fourth babies, typically you push faster and more effectively. And the average time is one to two hours of pushing before delivery is complete with a multipurpose patient in other words, a patient's had several babies Before. Now after the baby is delivered, that ends your second stage, then start your third stage. That's the delivery of the placenta or the afterbirth, that typically the placenta is delivered just like the baby dead through the vagina, in a defined period of time, and that time period for most women is anywhere from a couple minutes, up to 10 to 15 minutes, it can take longer, and sometimes your health care provider may even place their hand in the vagina, up into the uterine cavity and do what's called a manual removal of the placenta. Now, obviously, if you have an epic girl, this is tolerable for most patients.

If you don't have an epidural, it's an uncomfortable process. But there's a certain period of time where the placenta needs to be delivered to decrease your risk for bleeding and infection. So some healthcare providers are more aggressive and they typically remove the placenta in a manual removal at a faster pace than other health care providers, which do what's called an expectant management of the will center where they simply wait and wait for any increased risk for bleeding. They don't want to wait too long, because again, the risk for infection can cause problems for you in the postpartum period. So if you're a patient that requires a certain section, oftentimes we don't document second and third stages of labor. Many patients that require us a certain section, oftentimes do so before they become fully dilated.

So they may require a certain section because of what's called an arrest of labor. Or maybe your cervix got to five or six centimeters and never progressed beyond that. So you have remained in your first stage of labor. At that point, you would go for a certain section, and we don't necessarily document the second stage because you've never pushed and then the third stage occurs during your concern section when the placenta is delivered manually. I hope this information was helpful in getting you through this process of labor. I'll see you on the next video.